Jenna Ortega, the star of Netflix’s supernatural comedy series, Wednesday, is now stepping into the shoes of a producer for the show’s second season. This move follows her open criticism about the character’s portrayal in the first season, which had garnered some backlash. The young actress was notably vocal about her dislike for the love triangle her character was thrown into and certain dialogue that she felt didn’t align with the essence of her character.
In a conversation for Variety with Elle Fanning, Ortega shared that the second season of Wednesday will lean more into the horror genre, “We’ve decided we want to lean into the horror more. We’re ditching any romantic love interest, which is really great,” she said. “We’re going to get bolder, more dark.”
The first season had Wednesday Addams, the macabre-loving teenager, enrolled in the school where her parents first met, soon finding herself in the middle of a mysterious killing spree and a love triangle. This aspect was not well-received by some fans, and Jenna Ortega herself had difficulty aligning this narrative with Wednesday’s character.
Ortega apparently found it nonsensical for Wednesday, a character known for her dark and humorless demeanor, to have found herself involved in a romantic tussle. She was so passionate about the fidelity of her character’s portrayal that she admitted to changing lines in her scripts without informing anyone, believing those changes to be essential for the authenticity of her character.
Now with the leverage as a producer, Ortega aims to give the series new energy. In preparation for the second season, the 20-year-old stated that the conversations about the character’s direction started earlier, allowing her to have more input in the creation of outfits, new characters, and scripts. “It was a natural progression. With a character like Wednesday, who is so beloved, I didn’t want to get her wrong,” she said.
The shift in the narrative for the second season towards a darker, horror-centric plot with less focus on romance is a move that might prove popular among the fans.
After all, the essence of Wednesday Addams, a character beloved for her dark and mysterious personality, is something that fans have been eager to see respected and maintained. The intent to dive deeper into the horror genre while shedding any romantic interests for Wednesday seems to be a step in that direction.
Apart from the television series, Jenna Ortega will collaborate again with Tim Burton in the upcoming Beetlejuice sequel as she plays the daughter of Winona Ryder’s character Lydia. Given her commitment to preserving the integrity of her roles, it will be interesting to see how Ortega’s influence as a producer shapes the future of the Wednesday series and whether this change in narrative direction resonates with the audience when it premieres.
Unfortunately, Wednesday might have to wait a little while as the writer’s strike forces a ton of shows, including a handful of Netflix Originals, to go on hiatus until the situation is resolved.
