Wednesday – Season 1 Review

The brand new Addams Family spinoff show Wednesday was on my radar for a while ever since that first teaser that revealed star Jenna Ortega in gothic makeup and completely selling the role right then and there. Plus the fact that Tim Burton would be involved as well as the fact that it would star Christina Ricci – who previously portrayed Wednesday – was incredibly enticing.

A lot of people, however, told me that the show reminded them of an extremely cheesy and cheap CW superhero show. Some even compared it to the abysmally awful Riverdale. Yikes. Having seen the entirety of Wednesday‘s first season now, though, I can happily report that I kind of loved it.

There are only a few things that are holding me back for me from scoring my perfect rating. This is an incredibly dreary, gothic, hilarious, interesting, and surprisingly emotional coming-of-age supernatural mystery comedy horror drama series that blends all of these ingredients into one deliciously great show.

The first couple of episodes – “Wednesday’s Child Is Full Of Woe” and “Woe Is The Loneliest Number” – essentially serve as setup episodes to introduce us to the characters as well as the wacky Nevermore Academy. They’re easily the weakest episodes of the season, but once you reach episode three, Wednesday becomes a juggernaut of pure entertainment.

One of the biggest reasons why this show works as well as it does is due to Jenna Ortega’s absolutely masterful performance as the titular character. It’s easily the star’s best performance to date and solidifies her as a genuine scream queen, if X and Scream didn’t do that for her already.

Ortega is going to have a long and prosperous career for sure. As Wednesday, she deserves all the awards. The way she’s able to portray such a dark character while also humanizing her in just the right moments is amazing. The deadpan delivery of some of the show’s most memorable lines is remarkable, and the way she’s able to make you feel genuine sympathy for her is astounding.

The show also does something truly phenomenal for the titular character that I’ve never really seen done before – it really makes Wednesday feel like a human being, just with some dark fantasies. Yes, Wednesday may like some macabre things but the show always reminds you that she has a massive, beating heart as well.

There’s some truly touching moments in some of these episodes that truly showcase that Wednesday does, in fact, care about the people around her – she just has a unique way of showing it. The central mystery of the season is also quite juicy and interesting as well.

It’s also a mystery that is largely unpredictable up until the final two episodes or so, which is when it starts to become quite obvious what’s really going on. Aside from that and some unfortunately hideous CGI at times, Wednesday is a total blast of a show and one that I can’t wait to see more of in the near future.

Delightfully dark, interesting, and surprisingly emotional, the first season of Wednesday is a devilishly great surprise that boasts a truly masterful lead performance by Jenna Ortega.