After becoming one of the most-watched series in the streamer’s history, Addams Family spin-off Wednesday is gearing up for a second season at Netflix. It’s no surprise, given the instant hit made a star of lead Jenna Ortega and was nominated for 12 Emmys, winning four in total. In a fourth-wall-breaking teaser, the titular Wednesday Addams (Ortega) narrates a voiceover cut with scenes from the first season, saying, “Over the past few weeks, I’ve been hunted, haunted, and mimicked millions of times across the Internet. It’s been pure torture. Thank you.”
Specifically, she’s referring to a dance scene that spread like wildfire on TikTok shortly after the show aired, with millions imitating Wednesday’s eccentric moves, set to The Cramps’s “Goo Goo Muck.” This included the queen of strange pop herself, Lady Gaga—who is now set to appear in the series (more on that below). Fans quickly spliced the original clip with Gaga’s 2011 song “Bloody Mary,” and the rest is history:
Here’s everything we know about season two of Wednesday so far:
Which new cast members will join Wednesday?
On November 13, Entertainment Weekly reported that Mother Monster herself will be joining the cast, in an unknown role. Lady Gaga, who just released the video for her latest dark-pop single, “Disease,” is currently filming Wednesday in Ireland, the outlet reports.
Last year, Ortega expressed her wish for Gaga to join the cast, telling Variety, “I’m sure Netflix would love that. I think Mrs. Thornhill and Wednesday had this weird mentor relationship, or understood each other in a certain way. If Lady Gaga were to be a part, I think it would have to be two monsters that understand each other.”
Variety reports that although production originally tried to bring the singer on in a bigger capacity, Gaga’s role in Wednesday will be a cameo.
In addition to prepping for the release of her seventh studio album, due February 2025, Gaga just wrapped the promotional tour of the critically controversial Joker: Folie à Deux, in which she starred alongside Joaquin Phoenix. Recent years have seen her in the Oscar-winning A Star Is Born, House of Gucci, and multiple seasons of Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story series, for which she won a Golden Globe.
In addition to Gaga, Steve Buscemi and Thandiwe Newton will be joining the show; their roles are also undefined so far. (Newton starred in Westworld, while Buscemi most recently capped off a prolific career with recurring TV roles on Miracle Workers and Boardwalk Empire).
At a Tudum event held by Netflix in June 2023, Ortega addressed various fan theories, including that a new member of the Addams family would be introduced to the series. While she didn’t know who that character might be, she did have a wish list: “I would love to see Cousin Itt,” Ortega said. Other possibilities are Grandmama Addams or Wednesday’s siblings, Pubert and Pugsley Addams.
Which cast members will return?
This season, we’ll see the return of fan favorites like Catherine Zeta-Jones as mother dearest Morticia Addams; Joy Sunday as Wednesday’s rival, Bianca; and lovable werewolf roomie Enid (Emma Myers). Gwendoline Christie, Luis Guzmán, and Christina Ricci (who played Wednesday in the 1991 Addams Family movie) will also reprise their roles.
Ortega will, of course, still be playing Wednesday; the actress is fresh off the release of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, in which she played the daughter of Winona Ryder, who starred in the original 1988 Tim Burton film.
What will the plot of Wednesday season two be?
Set at Nevermore Academy, a boarding school for children with supernatural gifts, Wednesday expands on the original Addams Family lore, adding new fantasy elements to a beloved story. Season two saw Wednesday successfully solve a series of murders and save the students at Nevermore from near destruction.
Last year, Ortega shared some details about the plot of season two: “We’ve decided we want to lean into the horror aspect of the show a little bit more. Because it is so lighthearted, and a show like this with vampires and werewolves and superpowers, you don’t want to take yourself too seriously.”
She added, “We’re ditching any romantic love interest for Wednesday, which is really great.” It’s a notable admission, not only because stories about young women so often center around romance, but because Wednesday’s first season was specifically called out for placing its lead in a love triangle that didn’t add much to the character’s development. Ortega herself commented that the triangle between Wednesday, Tyler Galpin (Hunter Doohan), and Xavier Thorpe (Percy Hynes White) “made no sense.”
Ortega will also be a producer this go around, which she says was a “natural progression” from her role as the show’s star.
“I’m somebody who’s very hands-on,” she said. “I want to know what’s going on. With a character like Wednesday, who is so beloved and such a legend, I just really didn’t want to get her wrong. I want to see the outfits, new characters that are coming in, scripts, and they were gracious enough to let me put the producer hat on.”
Is there a release date for Wednesday season two?
As of yet, there’s no release date. But during the June Tudum event, it was confirmed that the series was currently being worked on, and that “the storyline is so top secret, even we don’t know what’s going to happen.” Stay tuned for details.
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