According to Deadline, Wednesday showrunner Miles Millar (Smallville, Spider-Man 2) wants to include more screen time for the parents of the titular character in season two. Wednesday, played by Jenna Ortega (Scream, The Fallout), is the protagonist of the series, based on the popular cartoon The Addams Family.
Season one of the hit Netflix series features Catherine Zeta-Jones (Chicago, The Mask of Zorro) and Luis Guzmán (Boogie Nights, Traffic) as Morticia and Gomez Addams, respectively. During an interview with TV Line, Millar says, “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.”
Though the show has not yet been renewed for a second season, Ortega has received high acclaim for her portrayal of the role. During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she discusses what it was like to work with executive producer Tim Burton, who directed four out of the eight episodes of the show. She 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.”
She also reveals the reason she didn’t ask for any advice from co-worker Christina Ricci (Buffalo ’66, Casper) who played Wednesday in the 1991 The Addams Family and its 1993 sequel Addams Family Values via the MTV News YouTube channel: “I don’t think she wanted to get in the way of my performance and feel like she was overbearing. And then I felt like I didn’t want to pull up something that she did 30 years ago, for one, the sake of my own benefit, but two, I didn’t want to rip her off. And I didn’t want to be too much like her.”
Season one of Wednesday is now streaming on Netflix.