The Wednesday Season 2 Rumors Explained: Is The Series Returning To Netflix?
Wednesday Addams is taking the world by storm in a way that, thankfully, doesn't involve putting her twisted mind to work. Were you to ask the macabre teen herself, her version of world domination would probably involve piranhas, communing with the dead, and ridding the world of any color that isn't her signature despairing black. But the reality of her popularity isn't so bleak: It mostly manifests in TikTok dances, Halloween costumes, and some of the funniest fan edits that society has ever seen. Netflix's "Wednesday" is that kind of popular, as you've most likely noticed it trending at the top of the charts for many weeks.
Whether you sought it out or stumbled onto it via social media, you've definitely encountered the clip of Jenna Ortega's ultra-goth dance scene and maybe even considered trying it out yourself. Mileage on the show certainly varies — in her review, /Film's Sarah Milner dubbed it another fumbled franchise à la Tim Burton — but there's no denying the fact that the series is attracting eyeballs. People have turned their attention to this latest spin on the "Addams Family" franchise, which follows a teenage Wednesday to Nevermore Academy where she solves crimes with her psychic abilities. Say what you will of the premise, but the popularity of the show is undeniable. For this very reason, fans are beginning to grow antsy.
Despite the fact that the show is smashing Netflix viewing records — "Wednesday" is now the only English-language series to have logged more than 400 million hours in a single week — the streamer still hasn't renewed the series for a second season. So what gives?
Does Wednesday still have a home at Netflix?
Earlier this week, The Independent reported that "Wednesday" might move from Netflix to Prime Video because Amazon Studios closed an $8.5 billion merger with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), the studio behind the "Addams Family" spinoff. Acquisition aside, anything seems possible in this day and age where approximately 10,000 different streaming services seem to be shuffling titles between their ever-growing libraries. It wouldn't even be the first time a series with the Netflix Original stamp jumped ship to a different streamer. But even so, this "Wednesday" scenario is pretty far-fetched.
At that time of the merger, Amazon declared that there were no plans to make all MGM content exclusive to Prime Video, and given how tied up the studio is with ongoing projects, doing so would be difficult. Thanks to the MGM acquisition, Amazon is now in business with many of its streaming rivals — "Wednesday" is just the most recent example. MGM Television produces several other ongoing properties that Amazon can't easily get its hands on, including "The Handmaid's Tale" for Hulu, "Last Light" for NBCUniversal's Peacock, "Fargo" for FX, and "Vikings: Valhalla" for Netflix. On the unscripted/network TV side of things, the studio is also behind huge reality series like "The Voice" (NBC), "Shark Tank" (ABC), and "Survivor" (CBS).
The merger doesn't mean that all of these titles will be unceremoniously pushed over to Prime Video, because streaming rights are much more complicated than that. In the case of "Wednesday," while neither Netflix nor Amazon have commented directly, a report from IndieWire claims that the deal between Netflix and MGM for the series was locked in long before the merger, meaning there's no need for the show to move.
The future of Wednesday is, ironically, bright
If there's little risk of "Wednesday" streaming elsewhere, why is Netflix waiting to announce a second season? The inner workings of Netflix remain a mystery to us all, but there's most likely some good news on the way. The streaming platform certainly isn't shy about canceling titles in spite of healthy viewership (R.I.P "The Babysitters Club," "Archive 81," "1899," and many more) but "Wednesday" is a record-smashing hit. A recent report from Deadline also claims that "a ["Wednesday"] renewal is thought to be inevitable." According to the outlet's sources, producers are already mulling over filming locations and talking to writers about joining the second-season writers' room.
Despite the darkness closely associated with the titular character, there's plenty of reasons to assume that "Wednesday" has a bright future ahead. In the meantime, let's turn speculation away from the streaming logistics of "Wednesday" and back to the plot. Plenty of loose ends were left hanging after the season 1 finale: Who sent Wednesday that mysterious text? When will we finally see Cousin Itt? And will this series please let its lead end up with her only viable love interest, Enid (Emma Myers)?
For now, no details have been revealed but co-creator Miles Millar told Variety that the future of "Wednesday" has already been outlined. "When we sit down to create a show, it's looking at multiple seasons, ideally," he said. "That's never expected, but that's the anticipation that hopefully, the show is successful. So you always lay out at least three or four seasons' worth of potential storylines for the characters. [...] You want to keep it open and organic enough to change it and evolve, but we certainly have a pretty clear runway of what we want to do in future seasons."