TV Review: ‘Wednesday’ Season 2 Part 1

‘Wednesday’ Season 2 Part 1 receives 8 out of 10 stars.Arriving on Netflix on August 5th is the first part of ‘Wednesday’ Season 2, (four episodes, followed by a further four making up Part 2 on September 3rd).

​‘Wednesday’ Season 2 Part 1 receives 8 out of 10 stars.Arriving on Netflix on August 5th is the first part of ‘Wednesday’ Season 2, (four episodes, followed by a further four making up Part 2 on September 3rd).   

‘Wednesday’ Season 2 Part 1 receives 8 out of 10 stars.

Arriving on Netflix on August 5th is the first part of ‘Wednesday’ Season 2, (four episodes, followed by a further four making up Part 2 on September 3rd).

With Jenna Ortega (‘Scream’) back as the titular troublemaker, here looking to hone her psychic abilities while digging into a new mystery, the show also features Emma Myers (‘A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’), Joy Sunday (‘Dear White People’) and, upgraded to regulars this year, fellow Addams family members Catherine Zeta-Jones (‘Chicago’), Luis Guzmán (‘Punch-Drunk Love’) and Isaac Ordonez (‘A Wrinkle in Time’).

Related Article: TV Review: ‘Wednesday’ Season 1

Initial Thoughts

If all the reporting on it and promotion for the show wasn’t enough to convince you, ‘Wednesday’s return for a second season on Netflix proves that it’s a giant sensation from the off, since it sports a tailored introductory sting featuring everyone’s favorite disembodied hand, Thing, interacting with the steamer’s logo.

‘Wednesday’, though, ultimately has a lot more than the sprawling fanbase to live up to –– it must deliver what audiences enjoyed about the first season while expanding the world and finding some new mysteries for our morbid heroine to explore.

On the evidence of the first part of the new season (split, as is the streamer’s custom, into two chunks premiering in this case roughly a month apart), ‘Wednesday’s child is still full of woe –– and mightily entertaining to boot.

Script and Direction

Returning showrunners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar know what makes ‘Wednesday’ tick: plenty of Ortega’s deadpan delivery, a deadly mystery enveloping her and her classmates, plenty for animated body part Thing to handle and some brightness to balance the dour central figure in the form of Emma Myers’ peppy werewolf roommate Enid.

While the element of surprise is perhaps lacking this time, the focus is instead on easing us back into Nevermore Academy, with this year bringing the added notion of having Wednesday’s family –– that would be Morticia, Gomez, Pugsley and looming, groaning manservant Lurch (Joonas Suotamo) –– around on campus more than she would really prefer.

The mystery is another beguiling one, and several of the new characters fit seamlessly into the story.

Still, while the addition of the extended Addams family does draw a little too much focus, at least the writing team keeps the balance most satisfying, Gomez and Pugsley used sparingly while the fractured dynamic between Morticia and her daughter is pushed to the fore.

On the directing front, Tim Burton is back, splitting episodes with Paco Cabezas, offers the requisite style and quirk we’ve come to expect from Wednesday. While not every effect is, er, effective (the Hyde remains some very plasticky CG work), others are still excellent (Thing in particular).

And a move to Ireland for the new season hasn’t impacted the show’s gothic charms, with an episode set at a nearby camp bringing up memories of Wednesday’s memorable time at summer camp in 1993 movie ‘Addams Family Values’.

Cast and Performances

With Ortega front and center as always, Wednesday herself remains a wonderful creation, all dark moods, gloomy zingers and a wealth of skills. This is a near-perfect blend of actor and role, and Wednesday’s journey this season allows her to deepen without changing too much.

Emma Myers also remains a delight as Enid, the perky werewolf roommate with the love of rainbow colors and, this year, a burgeoning love life. She balances well with Ortega and the two make a solid double act.

The returning members of the Addams clan (now regular cast members) are more of a mixed bag. Catherine Zeta-Jones is ever slinky and superb as Morticia, here handed her own deeper emotional throughline with different generational issues and a more active role in present-day Nevermore.

Luis Guzmán is similarly good as Gomez, though he has less to do (but does it all well). Isaac Ordonez is less convincing as Pugsley, but does at least have a fun plotline –– which also introduces some truly Burton-tastic animation for its backstory.

Previously unseen is Grandmama Hester Frump, Morticia’s mother, brought to vibrant, emotionally distant life by UK sitcom and acting legend Joanna Lumley. She fits smoothly into the wider ensemble.

Of the new recruits, Steve Buscemi makes for an appealing new principal, the goofy Barry Dort, a tireless campaigner for outcasts’ right who also has a hidden agenda, while Billie Piper works well as Isadora Capri, the new music teacher at the school.

There’s a fun, small supporting role for Christopher Lloyd (who played Uncle Fester in the live-action ‘Addams’ movies) and Thandiwe Newton provides mystery and power as the head of a nearby asylum which will become key to the plot in this early chunk of the season.

Final Thoughts

If it’s tough to follow a hit, ‘Wednesday’s second season so far shows little sign of the strain, bringing back what fans like about the show while layering in new mysteries and some worthwhile fresh faces.

Now it’s up the second batch of episodes to stick the landing…

What’s the story of ‘Wednesday’ Season 2?

Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega), returns to prowl the Gothic halls of Nevermore Academy, where fresh foes and woes await.

This season, Wednesday must navigate family, friends and old adversaries, propelling her into another year of delightfully dark and kooky mayhem.

Armed with her signature razor-sharp wit and deadpan charm, Wednesday is also plunged into a new bone-chilling supernatural mystery.

Who is in the cast of ‘Wednesday’ Season 2?

Jenna Ortega as Wednesday AddamsEmma Myers as Enid SinclairJoy Sunday as Bianca BarclayHunter Doohan as Tyler GalpinCatherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia AddamsLuis Guzmán as Gomez AddamsIsaac Ordonez as Pugsley AddamsSteve Buscemi as Barry DortThandiwe Newton as Dr. FairburnChristopher Lloyd as Professor Orloff

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