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Tim Burton's Netflix Series About Wednesday Addams Casts Jenna Ortega In Lead Role

Wednesday Jenna Ortega
By Chris Evangelista/

Wednesday has found its Wednesday. Jenna Ortega (The Babysitter: Killer Queen) will star as Wednesday Addams in the upcoming live-action Netflix series directed by Tim Burton. The series will follow an older Wednesday Addams than the one we're used to, as she enrolls at Nevermore Academy and has to deal with supernatural mysteries. Burton will direct all eight episodes of the series.

Jenna Ortega, who appeared in the Netflix movie The Babysitter: Killer Queen, and will next be seen in the new Scream sequel, will play Addams Family member Wednesday Addams in the upcoming Netflix series Wednesday. Tim Burton is making his TV series debut here, helming all eight episodes of the show, which comes from showrunners Al Gough and Miles Millar (Smallville, Into the Badlands).

Tim Burton making an Addams Family-related project sounds like a no-brainer at this point (it also sounds kind of predictable). That said, this is not your typical Addams Family adaptation. Here's the synopsis:

The series is a sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery charting Wednesday Addams' years as a student at Nevermore Academy. Wednesday's 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.

"Teenage Wednesday Addams solves mysteries" sounds like a bit of a stretch, but I'm sure this is going to appeal to a lot of people. The question now is: will other members of the Addams Family appear in the series? If so, who is going to play them? Start your fan-casting now! I'd personally go with Eva Green for Morticia – she already has a working relationship with Burton, and she's perfect for the part. I've also seen a few people suggest that Christina Ricci, who played Wednesday in the live-action Addams Family movies, should play Morticia here. And while that's a neat idea, I'm not sure if Ricci is even interested in that. I guess we'll see.

In addition to directing, Burton will also executive produce. Gough and Millar will executive produce as well, along with Steve Stark (Medium, The Event), Andrew Mittman for 1.21 (The Addams Family, Alphas), Kevin Miserocchi (Tee and Charles Addams Foundation), Kayla Alpert (Code Black, Up All Night), Jonathan Glickman for Glickmania (RESPECT, Addams Family 2), and Gail Berman (The Addams Family, Alphas).

No word yet as to when Wednesday will premiere, so stay tuned.

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