Netflix's Wednesday: Release date, cast, plot and news about The Addams Family series

23 September 2022, 15:22

Watch Netflix’s Wednesday Addams trailer starring Jenna Ortega

By Katie Louise Smith

Tim Burton's coming-of-age series about the iconic Wednesday Addams is coming to Netflix. Here's what we know so far.

A Tim Burton take on The Addams Family? Sounds like a dream come true. And thankfully, Netflix are making it happen.

Wednesday is set to be released on Netflix on November 23rd, and it will feature a fresh take on the iconic character of Wednesday Addams in a live-action, supernatural, coming-of-age story.

Burton will be making his TV debut as he directs and executive produces the series alongside creators and writers Al Gough and Miles Millar, who will serve as showrunners.

So far, we already know a few details about what to expect in the new show, including who will be playing the all important roles of Wednesday, Gomez and Morticia Addams. (Jenna Ortega, Luiz Guzmán and Catherine Zeta-Jones?! I know perfect casting when I see it!)

The latest news? The first teaser trailer is here and we're already obsessed with everything about it.

Here's everything we know about Netflix's Wednesday so far...

When is Wednesday released on Netflix?

Netflix have now confirmed that the long-awaited series Wednesday will premiere on November 23rd.

And guess what? November 23rd? What day of the week is that? Yep, it's a Wednesday.

Wednesday cast: Who is playing Wednesday Addams?

In May 2021, after plenty of speculation from fans, Netflix announced which actress would be taking on the role of Wednesday in the new series.

• Jenna Ortega will play teenage Wednesday Addams.

The 18-year-old actress is best known for her roles as Ellie Alves is Netflix's You and most recently, Katie in Netflix's Yes Day movie. Sharing the news on Instagram, Jenna wrote: “New chapter. Hope I can do Wednesday Addams justice. *snaps twice*”

Jenna now follows in the footsteps of Christina Ricci, who perhaps gave us the most well known iteration of the character, and Chloë Grace Moretz, who voiced Wednesday in the 2019 animated film.

Wednesday cast: Who is playing Gomez and Morticia Addams?

In August 2021, the all important roles of Wednesday's parents Gomez and Morticia Addams were revealed.

• Catherine Zeta-Jones will play Morticia Addams
• Luis Guzmán will play Gomez Addams

Zeta-Jones will follow in the footsteps of actresses including Carolyn Jones, Anjelica Houston and Charlize Theron who have all played and voiced the iconic Morticia on screen.

Guzmán follows the likes of John Astin, Raul Julia, Tim Curry and Oscar Isaac as the Addams family patriarch Gomez.

Wednesday cast: Who else is in the Netflix cast?

So far, a handful of characters have been confirmed to be appearing in the series. It's also been confirmed that Pugsley Addams, Thing and Lurch will be part of the Netflix show. They will be played by:

• Isaac Ordonez will play Pugsley Addams, Wedneday's younger brother.
• Victor Dorobantu will play Thing.
• George Burcea will play Lurch, the Addams' family servant.

Here's who else is in the cast so far, and who they're playing:

• Gwendoline Christie as Larissa Weems, the principal of Nevermore Academy, and former classmate of Morticia. Larissa is not a fan of the Addams family, and has an axe to grind with Morticia.
• Hunter Doohan as Tyler Galpin, a townie with a troubled relationship with his father a.k.a. the local sheriff, who strikes up an unlikely friendship with Wednesday Addams. 
• Percy Hynes White as Xavier Thorpe, a charismatic and supernaturally artistic Nevermore Academy student, who comes from wealth thanks to his celebrity psychic father. 
• Georgie Farmer as Ajax Petropolus, an awkward and shy student at Nevermore Academy who also happens to be a Gorgon.
• Emma Myers as Enid Sinclair, Wednesday's sunny and colourful Californian roommate at Nevermore Academy.  Enid hails from a pack of San Francisco Werewolves.
• Moosa Mostafa as Eugene Otinger, one of Nevermore Academy's quirkiest students and president of the school's bee-keeping club. 
• Naomi J. Ogawa as Yoko Tanaka, a vampire with Harajuku-inspired Goth flair and one of the cool kids at Nevermore Academy.
• Joy Sunday will play Bianca Barclay, one of Nevermore Academy's most popular students, Bianca descends from a long line of Sirens with a mesmerizing power to persuade.
• Riki Lindhome as Dr. Valerie Kinbot, a local therapist in the sleepy town of Jericho who takes a particular interest in her newest patient Wednesday Addams. 
• Jamie McShane as Sheriff Donovan Galpin, who has always had an issue with Nevermore Academy and a vendetta against former student Gomez Addams. 

Thora Birch, who was set to play Tamara Novak, dropped out of the project for personal reasons in December 2021.

Watch Jenna Ortega transform into Wednesday Addams

Who is Christina Ricci playing in Netflix's Wednesday?

It was announced in March 2022 that Christina Ricci would be joining the cast of Netflix's Wednesday – but she will not be playing the older version of Wednesday that she famously portrayed in the Addams Family films.

Instead, Christina will be playing a new character. Details about her character are being kept under wraps for now.

Deadline reports that Christina Ricci's character will be "similar to the one originally played by Birch" and will fill that role on the show. Thora's character Tamara was "Wednesday's dorm mother and the only "Normie" on staff at Nevermore Academy with a focus on all things botanical."

What is Wednesday about?

Wednesday, which will have 8 episodes, will follow a slightly more grown up Wednesday Addams as she navigates life and school. The official synopsis of the series has already been released:

"Wednesday Addams misadventures as a student at Nevermore Academy: a very unique boarding school snuggled in deepest New England.

Wednesday’s attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a monstrous killing spree that has terrorized the local town, and solve the supernatural mystery that embroiled her parents 25 years ago — all while navigating her new and very tangled relationships at Nevermore."

Speaking to Vanity Fair, creators Miles Millar and Alfred Gough have also teased that the new series (directed by Burton) will be its own thing: "It’s not trying to be the movies or the ’60s TV show. That was very important to us and very important to Tim."

The character of Wednesday is a little different too. While she's still iconically morbid and pessimistic, she's not a little kid anymore. "The relationship that kind of hangs over the season is really Wednesday’s relationship with Morticia," Gough says. "How do you step out of the shadow of a mother as glamorous as Morticia?"

Is there a Wednesday trailer yet?

Yes! The first trailer was released on August 17th, and teases a whole host of drama, mystery and murder.

The trailer then teases Wednesday's new life at the perfectly gothic Nevermore Academy, as she teases: "Little did I know I'd be stepping into a nightmare, full of mystery, mayhem and murder. I think I'm going to love it here."

Watch it at the top of the page.

READ MORE: Jenna Ortega teases her Wednesday Addams transformation for new Netflix series