Anyone that’s done any doomscrolling through social media in the last few months knows that the perpetually nonplussed, black-clad goth icon Wednesday Addams, as she’s currently portrayed by the rising scream queen Jenna Ortega, is trending like none other.
Fans of Tim Burton’s work, have found a lot to love with his latest television offering, Wednesday. While the Netflix exclusive show has only aired for one season so far, virtually overnight, the titular star of the series has become one of the most iconic pop culture characters of our day.
In case you haven’t watched it yet, Wednesday is a brand new take on The Addams Family that follows Wednesday Addams as she attempts to wrangle her newfound psychic abilities while searching for answers to a grisly mystery that involves not only her own spooky-kooky family but also her entire supernatural boarding school, Nevermore Academy.
From quirky yet highly original plotlines to hallucinogenic landscapes, Tim Burton has made an art form out of conveying age-old tales with breathtaking visuals and thoughtful story arcs. But what if we told you that some viewers may have missed some hidden details while watching his latest TV series?
That’s right, upon further examination there are nuances within the show that play off each other so cleverly, it’s almost as if it was from another world altogether! In this video, we’ll be exploring some of those subtle yet powerful moments found in the series – ones that will make any viewer develop a greater appreciation for Burton’s amazing body of work. So grab your favorite beverage and get ready for an exploration into imaginative depths only seen through Tim Burton’s eyes!
Facts Verse Presents: Hidden Details Viewers Missed in the Wednesday Series
The Tale Of Two Wednesdays
Clearly, Jenna Ortega is the undisputed star of Wednesday. But one thing that fans of the show might not realize is that Christina Ricci, the actress who made the role of Wednesday Addams famous back in the 90s, actually stars in the new Addams series as well, playing the dorm mom Marilyn Thornhill at Nevermore Academy.
According to Ortega, the two never sat down and discussed the role of Wednesday because they had a mutual understanding that they both offered two very distinct variations of the character. At the end of the day, Jenna wanted to bring to the table a fresh new take on Wednesday that incorporated her own flair.
Ricci Replaced Thora Birch Late Into Production
While Christina Ricci seamlessly blended into the cast of characters at Nevermore, she actually joined the cast towards the end of season one’s production, reportedly replacing actress Thora Birch.
According to reports, Birch had already filmed the majority of her scenes before making her exit to tend to a family illness. After watching season one, it’s hard to imagine anyone else playing Thornhill – especially considering Ricci’s past ties to the Addams clan.
Filming Thing Was Challenging
While you might assume that bringing Thing to the screen was achieved through CGI that was added in after filming, as it turns out, that’s only half true. To bring the lovable five-fingered disembodied hand to life, Netflix hired a professional illusionist named Victor Dorobantu who donned a blue that could be edited out of the scene later. Victor spent hours hiding in walls, hunching under tables, and peeking out of floorboards to get the perfect angles for his mute yet somehow extremely articulate character to shine.
Jenna Choreographed Her Now-Famous Dance Scene
If you’ve been on TikTok lately, then you’ve probably seen countless clips paying homage to Ortega’s fabulous dance routine, which she busted out at a Nevermore dance called the Rave’N. According to Jenna, to prepare for the segment, she closely studied Wednesday from the 1960s Addams Family television series as well as the goth club scene of the 1980s. Obviously, her astute research paid off since not only are her fellow cast and crew-mates raving about the scene, but it has also become one of the most popular TikTok dance trends in years.
Ortega Was Sick With Covid When Filming The Dance Scene
As iconic as Wednesday’s dance routine may be, Netflix came under heavy fire following Jenna’s admission that she was ill with COVID-19 during production and was experiencing dreadful symptoms when shooting the now-famous scene.
In fact, it was actually Ortega’s first day with the highly contagious respiratory disease when she filmed the dance number. Speaking to NME, Jenna said that she woke up that morning feeling weird. She claims that she doesn’t normally get sick, and even when she does, it’s not usually that bad.
That morning, however, she felt like she had been ‘hit by a car’ and that a ‘little goblin had been let loose’ in her throat that was ‘scratching the walls’ of her esophagus.
To ease her symptoms, Ortega says that she was given medicine between takes, but at the time, they were still waiting on the positive test results.
In response to public outcry over how they allegedly handled the situation, MGM, the production company behind the series, told NME that ‘strict COVID protocols’ were in place and followed, and that after the test result came back positive, Jenna was promptly removed from set.
Don’t Blink
In a recent interview with Teen Vogue, Ortega revealed that after inadvertently doing an entire scene without blinking, Burton asked her to keep doing that for the rest of the series. In response to Burton’s request, Ortega explained that she had already decided to use the ‘Kubrick stare’ for her character, but having her refrain from blinking ended up really bringing everything together.
Burton Asked Ortega Directly To Join The Cast
Few can claim that they’ve received an e-mail from a living legend like Tim Burton asking them to meet up, but that’s exactly what Ortega says happened while she was on the set of A24’s 2022 slasher flick X. According to Tim Burton, he felt like really the only actress that he could picture playing Wednesday was Ortega. Since he was so focused on getting her to join the cast, he made sure to speak to her directly.
Ortega Auditioned Over Zoom While Covered in Fake Blood
After Burton requested her to audition for the role, Jenna ended up doing so while still filming X on location in New Zealand. Right after filming her death scene in that film, Jenna had a Zoom call with Burton while she was still covered in prop blood and glycerin sweat. With a large prosthetic cut on her face and utterly exhausted after being up for more than 24 hours, Jenna hopped on the call and gave it her best. Evidently, Burton found her appearance to be hilarious and quite fitting. After exchanging a few endearing chuckles, Burton let her know that she had landed the part.
Ortega Never Touched The Cello Before
During her cello scenes, Jenna wowed viewers with her apparent “skills”, but in an interview with Wired, she admitted to having no prior experience with the instrument. To prepare herself for those scenes, Ortega says that she picked up the cello and started taking lessons roughly two months before production began.
In that same interview, Ortega shared that she probably couldn’t play very well now since she’s been away from home and working so much lately, but she hopes to continue pursuing her lessons in the future as it’s something that she enjoys.
Ortega went on to say that she has immense respect for anybody that plays the cello as it’s a “delightful instrument”.
Not only did Ortega take cello lessons to prep for her role, but she also studied German, fencing, archery, and canoeing. On top of that, Jenna has said that she tries to put herself in the shoes of Wednesday every day in order to work on her confidence and posture.
Emma Myer’s Wolfed Out At Werewolf Camp To Prepare For Her Role
To get into character as Wednesday’s colorful and obnoxiously bubbly werewolf roommate Enid Sinclair, actress Emma Myers attended a werewolf boot camp program. In an interview that she gave to Seventeen, Myer’s said that the program involved her and a couple others crawling around on the ground growling at each other. She went on to add that the experience was a weird one that she wouldn’t soon forget.
Principal Larissa Weems’ Stylish Look Was Inspired By Tippi Hedron
Fan’s of Wednesday know that practically everyone in the show has their own signature sense of style, and principal Weems, portrayed by Gwendoline Christie, is no exception. When the wardrobe and makeup department was designing her character’s looks, Oscar award-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood took heavy inspiration from 60s icon Tippi Hedren – specifically drawing from her notable role in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 classic The Birds.
Atwood told Variety that she purchased a vintage poster of Hedren in The Birds and showed Christie it while explaining that she saw her character as being ‘her own kind of misfit’, albeit in a ‘totally different way’. Christie loved the pitch, and the rest is history!
The Show Was Shot In Romania
According to Ortega, the cast and crew of Wednesday spent eight months filming on location in Romania. The majority of season one’s filming took place in the region of the country known as Transylvania.
Most of the scenes that took place at Nevermore were filmed at a location called the Cantacuzino Castle, which is located in the Carpathian mountains. The fictional town of Jericho was created in Romania by the series’ set designers who sought to recreate traditional New England architecture.
Wednesday is arguably one of the best original series that Netflix has put out in ages. The public has fallen in love with Jenna Ortega and has taken to the show like piranhas to fresh blood.
Season 1 gave us a delightful glimpse into the macabre world of the titular character, leading us wanting more.
After becoming a TikTok phenomenon and being well on it’s way to more than 1.2 billion viewing hours, Netflix announced on January 6, 2023, that the series has been renewed for another season.
As we eagerly await a second installment in this incredibly captivating series, it’s fun to reflect back on what we’ve seen so far.
Do you think that season 2 of Wednesday will live up to the hype or do you think that it will struggle to capture the magic of it’s first season? Let us know in the comments, and as always, thanks for watching!
