Wednesday spoilers ahead!
Wednesday was the breakout show of 2022. And for excellent reason, as the 'all together ooky' levels of spookiness catered to all scare levels, while the sombre fashion choices had us seriously lusting – all with the fabulous Jenna Ortega expertly fitting into the popular cult titular role with her dead-pan mannerism while attending Nevermore Academy, a boarding school for supernaturally gifted students.
It was also a show that gave us very relatable quotes (even if we don't want to admit it out loud), such as: "Sometimes I act like I don't care if people like me. Deep down, I secretly enjoy it," and "I find social media to be a soul-sucking void of meaningless affirmation". We seriously love our moody heroine!
Given everything that Tim Burton-directed show had to offer, it's no surprise that it amassed a staggering 341.2 million hours of viewing worldwide in its opening week, which broke the record held in place by the fourth season of Stranger Things. If that isn't major, I don't know what is! And it continued to smash its own records in the following weeks and shows no signs of stopping.
Unfortunately, season two has hit some production difficulties after losing one of its main cast members mid-way through filming and, thanks to the ongoing Hollywood strikes, there's also been filming delays.
So with the eight-part series, which ended on a major cliffhanger showing such instant, enormous and continued global success, it only seems fitting that we look ahead to the hotly-anticipated second season. But what do you need to know about the next installment? We have you covered below.
Is Wednesday season 2 confirmed?
Season two of Wednesday has officially been confirmed! I mean, we already knew that as the titular character received an ominous text from a stalker at the end of the first season, which read, “I'm watching you”. Major cliffhanger, or what?
The announcement was made in a short video by Netflix, which included highlights from the first season and Wednesday's voiceover: “Over the past few weeks, I have been hunted, haunted, and mimicked millions of times across the internet (hello, Jenna's viral dance video!). It's been pure torture… Thank you.”
It's then added: “More misery is coming. The global phenomenon will return for season two.” A scene from season one hilariously tied together the announcement, with Wednesday fittingly saying: “Honestly, I wished I cared a little more”. Brilliant!
Ahead of the confirmation, the head Of Netflix's US and Canada scripted series, Peter Friedlander, hinted at a second season as he said: "I am optimistic about Wednesday, we'll leave it at that.
"Weirdly, because it feels different, but we're just two weeks into the launch of Wednesday, so we're still really at the beginning of this cultural phenomenon, and there's a lot to absorb and learn about it. It's striking how quick something like this can explode on Netflix, and there is a lot you want to hear back from fans and audiences."
Peter continued to Variety: "It's not just the dance, it's people dressing up and buying makeup and wanting to look like Wednesday Addams. The resurgence, for me, it's something that's been in the culture for a long time, but never this pronounced. It's something that we want to study and understand why this is such a phenomenon. And I think so much of it is Jenna's extraordinary performance at the centre."
Meanwhile, the delay in confirming season two may have been due to the recent speculation that the show may leave Netflix for another streaming service, as the series is essentially a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) product. According to Deadline, Amazon and MGM closed a £7.06b merger in March 2022, which might mean that Wednesday could be acquired by Amazon and move to Amazon Prime.
However, IndieWire subsequently reported that a deal about the show had already been locked in between Netflix and MGM, so therefore, Wednesday will not be moving to another streaming service.
What is the plot for Wednesday season 2?
We don't have any official plot right now as it's far too early. But we sure can expect Wednesday to get to the bottom of the anonymous text she received in the car on her way home.
Meanwhile, showrunner Miles Millar is hoping for the rest of the Addams family to make more of an appearance, telling TVLine: "We felt like we just touched the surface with those characters, and the actors are so amazing in those roles. Catherine is, I think, an iconic Morticia. The relationship between Wednesday and Morticia is also essential to the show, and the idea that Wednesday is trying to forge her own path outside the family is important."
He added: "[We] definitely want to feature the family as we did this season in a couple of episodes if we were to get a second season."
Meanwhile, lead actress Jenna also has her own plans on how she'd like her character to evolve, admitting that she would love Wednesday to be bisexual and have a relationship with her roommate Enid. Jenna told PRIDE: "In a perfect world, [Wednesday and Enid] would have been a thing." She also explained to MTV News that she doesn't see her character romantically involved with any men: "Now that Tyler's off the table, I feel like she's off of boys for a while. I feel like her and Xavier are just getting to a safe place. I think there's an opportunity there for a really sweet platonic relationship."
When is Wednesday season 2 coming out?
There's been no confirmed release day for Wednesday season 2 yet but, since we know they are still filming and that production has been delayed due to the Hollywood strikes, season 2 is expected to be released late 2024. Watch this space!
Who will be part of the cast?
Jenna will obviously return as Wednesday. We can also expect to see the return of Emma Myers as Enid Sinclair, Percy Hynes White as Xavier Thorpe, Joy Sunday as Bianca Barclay, Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia Addams, Luis Guzmán as Gomez Addams, Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley Addams and Fred Armisen as Uncle Fester.
According to Deadline, Thora Birch, who was set to play Wednesday's dorm mother, Tamara Novak, in season two had to leave mid-way through filming.
According to sources who spoke to the outlet, Birch has had to go home to attend to an illness in the family. It’s also understood that, while she didn’t complete her scenes, she had “finished filming the bulk” of the role. A representative for MGM, who produces the series, told Deadline: “Thora has returned to the States to attend to a personal matter and will not be returning to the production.”
It's not been confirmed if Birch’s scenes will actually make it into the show or whether she will be recast.
This article was originally published on Glamour UK.
