Tim Burton’s newest project Wednesday is his first attempt at directing a television series, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The eight-episode Netflix series follows the story of the eldest Addams child Wednesday, played by Jenny Ortega (The Fallout, You), as she attends Nevermore Academy and attempts to master her emerging psychic ability and solve family mystery, via The Hollywood Reporter.
On working with Burton, Ortega says, “[Tim] is a really, really sweet guy, and probably one of the most collaborative directors I’ve ever worked with. Maybe that’s why his work is so great because it’s something that people can agree on, and everyone feels good in. I feel like I learned a lot from him. I’ve ever worked with somebody who was such a visionary, and I cherish that experience,” via The Hollywood Reporter.
Burton was approached to direct the Netflix original series by showrunners Miles Millar (Smallville, Spider-Man 2) and Alfred “Al” Gough (Smallville, Shanghai Noon), and Burton agreed four days after receiving the project, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Gould told The Hollywood Reporter that, “Tim was always our first choice to do it, but people were like, ‘He’s never done television.’ But we said, ‘If we don’t ask, the answer’s no.’ So, we sent the script to his agent. His agent really liked it, and sent it to Tim, and then shockingly, four days later, he answered and said he would love to get on the phone and talk to us about it. We did and he basically committed right then.”
In addition to Jenna Ortega, the Wednesday cast includes Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay), Catherine Zeta-Jones (Chicago, The Mask of Zorro), Luis Guzman (Boogie Nights, Traffic), Fred Armisen (Big Mouth, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy), and Christina Ricci (Buffalo ‘66, Black Snake Moan).
Wednesday will be available to stream on Netflix on Nov. 23rd.