While spinoffs could be lucrative, the dark comedy’s peculiarity has much to do with Wednesday as a character, making them ultimately pointless.
Netflix’s Wednesday and the Addams Family world it brought back to the small screen proved so successful that it warranted talks about potential spinoffs, however, a Wednesday spinoff would misconstrue why the Netflix crime mystery TV show works. Released on November 23, Wednesday ended up being both critically acclaimed and widely watched, being streamed for more than a billion hours and occupying the top spot of the Global Top 10 TV shows in English for four weeks and counting. Still, talks about Wednesday spinoffs seem premature and could also potentially miss the point of the dark comedy TV show.
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While embracing the typical themes of a coming-of-age story, Wednesday did so without losing the aesthetics of the Addams Family, molding it in a way that precisely mirrored Jenna Ortega’s titular character. Cameos from Addams family members made Wednesday better, adding to Wednesday’s story. However, talks about potential Wednesday spinoffs mentioned by Netflix executive Peter Friedlander extending further than members of the Addams Family hint at the real possibility of Wednesday spinoffs happening in the future. That would end up missing the point of the qualities that made Wednesday work.
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Wednesday Spinoffs Would Ignore What Makes The Show So Good
The Addams Family’s dark comedy shone throughout Wednesday season 1, but what made the Alfred Gough and Miles Millar TV show unique was how it was tailored to Wednesday’s story and herself as a character. Wednesday gave viewers a bit of insight into all of Wednesday’s family members, making Gomez and Morticia’s teenage stories just as interesting as Pugsley’s challenges at school and Uncle Fester’s problems with the law. Indeed, even the world the Nevermore Academy introduced viewers to proved interesting, with the different types of outcasts and their peculiar strengths and weaknesses making the story more varied.
However, Netflix’s Wednesday success couldn’t be easily replicated by any Wednesday spinoff, as the best part of the show was precisely how everything that appeared on the Netflix series unlocked new layers of Wednesday, letting audiences see her more clearly as a character. Wednesday was already the most memorable character from 1991’s The Addams Family, but Netflix’s Wednesday fully capitalized on her popularity. Indeed, all the cameos were functional in recounting a side of Wednesday, like her actions defending her brother Pugsley revealed her protective side or her relationship with Morticia unveiled Wednesday’s refusal to walk someone else’s path.
All relationships that Wednesday begrudgingly established in Wednesday season 1 could have mirrored any coming-of-age story of a solitary protagonist, but they actually were made better by Wednesday’s unique approach to them. Even Nevermore Academy’s existence in Wednesday season 1 was made peculiar by Wednesday’s presence there, and her initial opposition to anything relating to it clashing with the typical reaction protagonists have to the magical school supposed to become their second home. All in all, Wednesday’s best qualities couldn’t have existed without Wednesday as the protagonist, as everything that happened was instrumental to the titular character’s growth, making Wednesday spinoffs pointless as they would have to focus on others.
Wednesday Should Complete Its Own Story Before Thinking Of Spinoffs
Wednesday spinoffs could potentially enrich the world Wednesday started exploring, but if they were to happen, they would have to do so well after Wednesday’s story is completed. Indeed, the threatening messages Wednesday received on her newly acquired phone in Wednesday season 1’s ending clearly point to someone following her every move, whether that someone was involved with Laurel Gates and the Hyde’s plot or not. Although Wednesday’s growth as a character was substantial in Wednesday season 1, her story still has much to uncover. This would make potential Wednesday spinoffs make sense only after Wednesday’s story and the characters it put a spotlight on are wholly explored, making spinoffs a feasible option only far in the future rather than near.
