Movies - TV
Jenna Ortega Wasn't Sure About Wednesday, But Couldn't Pass Up A Call With Tim Burton
By WITNEY SEIBOLD
Debuting on Netlix on November 23, 2022, "Wednesday" is a live-action series about “The Addams Family” daughter, now a gloomy, murderous teenage goth, going to high school. Tim Burton will serve as executive producer and direct the show’s first four episodes — and if it weren’t for his involvement, star Jenna Ortega probably wouldn’t be playing the titular character.
The actress revealed that it wasn't until she heard she would be working with Burton that her eyes lit up about returning to television. “I didn't really want to do it initially because I didn't want to do television again,” she said, adding, “I've been trying to get into film for a while, but you can't really pass up the opportunity to talk to someone like Tim.”
Ortega received her first call with Burton in a somewhat compromising predicament: She was working on the slasher film “X,” and her face was covered with fake, bloody wounds. "I had just done a whole night shoot, and I had cuts and prosthetics all over my face,” said Ortega. “I got on the phone with Tim and he just laughed.”
The actress continued, “We kept talking and talking, and eventually I realized this is something that could be really interesting to be a part of.” The new "Wednesday" series will be a detective show but set at a Hogwarts-type boarding school called Nevermore Academy, where the kids all appear to have superpowers.