A subreddit for fans of the creepy, kooky and eternally ooky Wednesday Addams. Now a hit Netflix show!
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One of the theories I heard is the popularity of the Addams Family franchise.
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Addams Family, Tim Burton, Jenna Ortega, the dance
Also Danny Elfman, Al Gough & Miles Millar, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Gwendoline Christie
And Christina Ricci!
I think there’s a few factors.
One of them is timing. I’m 35, I grew up watching the movies from the 90s. They were movies I had on vhs and would watch them both regularly. As an adult I don’t know how they’d hold up but having a modern show that’s aimed at a more adult audience is great.
From there, while I talk about it being aimed at a more adult audience, it’s not aimed at a wildly old audience. As much as I can watch and enjoy it in my 30s it’s also something where a teen could watch it and not see anything inappropriate to their age group. It isn’t something that adults won’t want to watch because it’s for kids, but it’s not something that the kids can’t watch. It has a huge potential audience.
It also has the right tone, true crime and darker stuff like this has been in vogue for a few years now so it’s something that a lot of people are going to see and like the look of.
It’s also a breath of fresh air. It’s not a ground breaking show by any means, it doesn’t do anything that no one has done before, but it’s pretty unique in its way and it’s incredibly well made to boot. It’s genuinely funny, well written, well acted, well produced, and so on.
It has the first few paragraphs here to draw people in to give the show a try, and then the last paragraph to keep them watching until the end
' don't know how they hold up' I watched them recently and i absolutely loved the 90s movies. Everything about them.
Casting Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Adams. She was the show.
Absolutely!
The dance went absolutely viral on tik tok, everyone and their aunt seen it.
A major IP that had laid fallow for a while, a transcendent lead Actress Performance from Jenna Ortega, Tim Burton back in his element with a strong Aesthetic and a strong cast beyond that (minus the young male actors).
I say going forward though...the power system and world building needs some work. Cause boy do both have more holes then swiss cheese
I'd say it’s mostly the OG fans trying to get that Addams Family high that they haven't gotten since the 90s.
Oh, and Jenna Ortega is in the starring role. She just has that type of aura that can draw a lot of eyes to whatever movie or show she's in.
Tim Burton 2. The Addams Family name recognition 3. Jenna Ortegs 4. Thing. 5. Entertaining from start to finish.
Thx for mentioning Thing. Great performance by Viktor Dorobantu and great special effects and camera work on him
I’d say it’s a combination of factors. The Addams Family has always been a popular franchise, which definitely helps, but I think Wednesday is more of a darker and macabre spin on the original “kooky-spooky” vibe of the 60’s and even the 90’s Addamses. And it seems like shows with a creepy/mysterious vibe are quite popular nowadays (well, they’ve always been popular, but it seems to me anyway that in today’s world we are seeing more of a rise in acceptance towards alternative subcultures and interests, so shows akin to Wednesday are enjoyed by a much wider audience than before). Pair that with the fact that Jenna Ortega did a phenomenal job at playing Wednesday and the fact that the dance scene went viral on TikTok, and you’ve got yourself a recipe for a highly successful show.
Obvious things; Jenna Ortega's performance was funny, completely committed; the not too spooky but beautiful set design of Nevermore, Tim Burton's directing in the first four episodes, the Addams family fans carrying over to the current generation
Not as obvious: It has a bit of a horror but not so scary that elementary school aged kids couldn't watch it. Covered a pretty large demographic.
The lead was well-cast. Ortega was perfect as Wednesday and maybe even better than Ricci.
An interesting artistic style in costume and set design that had a lot of effort put into it So many shows these days are just plain lazy with no creativity or effort put into the look.
The Sherlocke Holmes-style story was engaging enough to keep people watching until the end.
It did not attempt to ret-con the IP and instead built off of and honored the previous works.
And then there's social media. My daughter who is 7 wanted to watch Wednesday just because so many people on Youtube were dressing up as Wednesday or making rip-off Wednesday videos.
It was good.
The Addams family was popular but has never been this big. Jenna Ortega did an amazing job, but its not like her star power was bringing people in.
I think the main draw to begin with was Tim Burton, who ofc has had a ton of hit movies and is practically a household name at this point.
But ultimately it got huge because of word of mouth because of the viral moments and how good the show itself is. Its one of many properties that builds on the Magical School concept that has just been perennially popular and always gets people addicted.
More people watched it than they did all but four other shows on Netflix.
That’s my theory at least. I might be wrong.
I'd say it’s mostly the OG fans trying to get that Addams Family high that they haven't gotten since the 90s.
Oh, and Jenna Ortega is in the starring role. She just has that type of aura that can draw a lot of eyes to whatever movie or show she's in.
I'd say it’s mostly the OG fans trying to get that Tim Burton/Addams Family high that they haven't gotten since the 90s.
Oh, and Jenna Ortega is in the starring role. She just has that type of aura that can draw a lot of eyes to whatever movie or show she's in.