Netflix’s ‘Wednesday Addams’ Spinoff Casts Gomez

Tim Burton has found his Gomez Addams. Luis Guzman, best known for his roles in Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and Traffic, has been cast as the Addams Family patriarch in the Netflix sequel series Wednesday. The role was previously played to perfection by the late Raul Julia in the beloved film franchise. The new series will focus on the creepy and kooky family’s eldest daughter as she balances school and solving murders.

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.”

Up and coming actress Jenna Ortega was previously announced as 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.

Burton will direct the series, his first live-action and TV directorial debut. He joins Smallville‘s Al Gough and Miles Millar as showrunners and executive producers on the show. Wednesday is produced by MGM/UA Television. “When we first heard Al Gough and Miles Millar’s pitch for Wednesday we were struck, like an arrow from a crossbow, right in our hearts. They nailed the tone, the spirit and the characters, but gave us a fresh way into this story,” Teddy Biaselli, Netflix’s Director Original Series said, per Deadline. “We then got the call that visionary director and lifelong Addams Family fan Tim Burton wanted to make his television directorial debut with this series. Tim has had a history of telling empowering stories about social outsiders like Edward Scissorhands, Lydia Deitz, and Batman. And now he brings his unique vision to Wednesday and her spooky classmates at Nevermore Academy.”