Tiny Table 3

The simp’n celebrators of Netflix’s barely-mid Wednesday series need to check themselves. Popularity doesn’t equal quality. Wednesday is popular, but its Season 2 is a midweek slog: a Wednesday that thinks it’s a Friday.

First, Wednesday is not an Addams Family show. Showrunners, Miles Millar and Alfred Gough, have slapped the classic’s veneer onto a show that is essentially Temu Harry Potter. Wizardry school? Check. Shady school staff? Check. Competition in the woods? Check. Outcasts/Wizards vs Normies/Muggles? Check. Tack on a shot-by-shot rip of the dragon firework scene in Fellowship of the Ring, and you’ve got screenwriting that feels more ChatGPT than human. The only thing they can’t seem to steal from with competence is the Addams Family.

Wednesday is packed with seasoned performers that are hobbled by poor direction and absurd dialogue. Luis Guzman’s turn as Gomez is particularly bad. The actor looks uncomfortable at best or just completely lost. Top-tier actors Steve Buscemi and Thandiwe Newton can’t even make the material work. Jenna Ortega spouts puns and literary references that sound like a high school student who skipped reading the book and opted to grab quotes from Goodreads. More often than not, she looks like Jenna Ortega acting like Wednesday Addams instead of being Wednesday.

There are painfully few bright points. Victor Dorobantu’s disembodied run at Thing is a triumph. He manages to give life and emotion to our five-fingered friend. Fred Armisen’s portrayal of Fester is frenetic, funny, and fully transportive. Armisen, it seems, was the only person who looked at the source material. And hats off to the production design and art direction teams. Wednesday looks great. Too bad there’s little underneath that gothic shine.

Wednesday‘s first four of season 2 has little to recommend it. It can’t even muster the charm of a Scooby Doo episode. It’s a hackneyed patchwork of other IPs and waves a hand at its own. As a result, Wednesday manages to be neither nostalgic nor original.

Verdict: a generous 5