Tim Burton’s ‘Addams Family’ Spinoff Casts Wednesday Addams’ Star Character, And She’s a Netflix Star

Tim Burton has found his Wednesday Addams. The spooky director is trying his hand at the iconic Addams Family with Netflix‘s Wednesday, a live-action spinoff series about the creepy and kooky family’s eldest daughter. The Hollywood Reporter shared the official description for the upcoming 8-episode show, and it sounds like a must-see: “a sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery charting Wednesday Addams’ years as a student at Nevermore Academy. Wednesday attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a monstrous killing spree that has terrorized the local town, and solve the supernatural mystery that embroiled her parents 25 years ago — all while navigating her new and very tangled relationships at Nevermore.”

Burton will be directing and executive producing, and Al Gough and Miles Millar (Smallville, Into the Badlands) will serve as showrunners. Most importantly, actress Jenna Ortega has signed on to play Wednesday, following in the path of actresses Lisa Loring, Christina Ricci, and Chloë Grace Moretz. Ortega started out on Disney Channel’s Stuck in the Middle before showing up in Netflix projects like Yes Day and the second season of You. She posted about the news on Instagram alongside a copy of the first script.

“New chapter. Hope I can do Wednesday Addams justice. *snaps twice*” she wrote. Ortega opened up in a recent interview in Cosmopolitan about her desire to take on meaningful roles for Latinx people, putting a lot of emphasis on the need for positive representation. “I feel like the Latinx community, first of all, they’re not often shown on camera in general,” the 18-year-old explained. “But they’re also oftentimes not shown in a positive light. I never want to play a maid and I never want to play a cartel leader’s daughter. I would much rather play a person of power, a powerful character in a positive way.” Taking on the role of such an iconic and beloved character is certainly a step in the right direction.

Ortega also spoke about her dream career in the interview, touching on her Disney past. “I really want to be doing indie films or passion projects,” she explained. The thing about being a Disney kid, though, that’s always going to be in my past. So there’s no point in trying to hide it. I do want to do projects that challenge me a little bit more and put me in situations that I may not necessarily be able to initially relate to, just to push myself and see what I can do.” Working with such a legendary director on the next chapter in a beloved property has got to be a mark off the bucket list.