Netflix and MGM/UA have announced the new live-action coming-of-age comedy Wednesday that will see everyone’s favorite maiden of the macabre, Wednesday Addams, graduate into a full fledged leading lady. And who better to direct than the macabre master himself, Tim Burton.
The upcoming eight-episode series, from Alfred Gough and Miles Millar (Smallville, Into The Badlands), is described as, “a sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery charting Wednesday’s years as a student at the peculiar Nevermore Academy.”
The oldest Addams’ child 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 of the strange and diverse student body.
“Who among us has never felt like an outsider? I truly believe that most people have, at one time or another, felt odd. Maybe creepy. Kooky even. And perhaps because I was so tapped into my inner oddball, I found a deep kinship to the family of Addams,” said Netflix Director of YA/Family Series, Teddy Biaselli.
ALSO READ: How ‘Bridgerton’ turned into Netflix’s biggest series ever
He added, “When we first heard Al Gough and Miles Millar’s pitch for Wednesday we were struck, like an arrow from a crossbow, right in our hearts. They nailed the tone, the spirit and the characters, but gave us a fresh way into this story.”
Burton, a lifelong Addams Family fan, wanted to make his television directorial debut with this series. Burton has had a history of telling empowering stories about social outsiders like Edward Scissorhands, Lydia Deetz, and Batman.
He will now bring his unique vision (and probably composer Danny Elfman) to Wednesday and her spooky classmates at Nevermore Academy.
“Whether it was the classic TV series, the brilliant movies, the recent Broadway musical or even their guest appearances on Scooby Doo – every time the Addams Family was on a screen, I was watching. I loved that at every opportunity the Addams skewered so-called “normality.” Their entire existence was a middle finger (attached to a disembodied hand) to the status quo. And none was more rebellious, more avant garde and more iconic than Wednesday Addams,” Biaselli notes.
Nominate Someone You know For The Reel Black List OR Reel Women
In addition to Tim Burton, Alfred Gough and Millar, the team also includes 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).
