Just as Beetlejuice Beetlejuice breathes new life into Tim Burton’s own classic movie, his Netflix series Wednesday is a fresh take on the original characters created by Charles Addams. The series, soon returning for Wednesday season 2, successfully reimagined the infamous Wednesday Addams for a modern audience. By focusing on her teenage years and exploring her unique but recognizable interests, the show breathes new life into this iconic character.

Wednesday always had hobbies; however, her age in the original series as well as the central “kookiness” of the comedy somewhat limited them as characteristics. Netflix’s Wednesday struck gold by casting Jenna Ortega, who makes Wednesday macabre but likable, even relatable. The new series then honors Wednesday’s core interests in the original, which still revolve around the arts, but develops them into now iconic character elements that are coming back in Wednesday season 2, as they are aspirations that better shape her character.

Wednesday Made Jenna Ortega’s Wednesday Addams An Aspiring Writer & Cellist

This Is A Significant Development Of Her Original Series Hobbies

An essential aspect of Netflix’s Wednesday series is that Wednesday has grown up; whereas she is a child in the original series, she is now a high school student. The inciting incident of the Netflix series is that she has been relocated to Nevermore Academy for “outcasts, freaks, and monsters” after her most recent expulsion for bad behavior. This is a believable development — as is the evolution of her hobbies, which center on the arts and humanities. Ortega plays the cello herself in Wednesday, having practiced for two months beforehand, adding realism to Wednesday’s passion for the instrument.

Whereas the 1960s series largely revolved around family life, this is unlikely to be enough for today’s audiences.

Another smart move was to move the story out of the Addams’ home, which also emphasizes Wednesday as an independent teenager. Whereas the 1960s series largely revolved around family life, this is unlikely to be enough for today’s audiences. Additionally, footage of the Addams’ home would rely too much on the nostalgia factor. New locations mean more activities, allowing Wednesday to have several interests in the Netflix series — she is an aspiring writer, with a few unpublished mystery novels already under her belt. As well as playing the cello, she is a skilled fencer.

Wednesday Addams’ Interests In The Netflix Show Make Her More Dynamic

Wednesday’s New Hobbies Expand Her Character More While Still Being Gothic

The television landscape of the 1960s was wildly different from today’s streaming industry. Based on a recurring cartoon in The New Yorker in the 1930s, the original TV Addams Family show’s comedy rested on defying the nuclear family tropes of the time. They were especially endearing to audiences because they were not unfriendly; they simply had different tastes from the rest of society. The show was progressive, but the crux of the comedy is that the Addams are “kooks.” Although brilliant, the comedy and storylines of the original series would fall flat in a contemporary show, which demands more complexity.

Jenna Ortega leads Netflix’s Wednesday, but she’s backed by a strong supporting cast playing Addams Family characters, like Wednesday’s mom Morticia.

A modern rendition of anything Addams-related must show self-awareness of the Addams’ place in popular culture while retaining the essential spirit of the original. Wednesday’s hobbies in the original series include raising spiders, ballet, and writing poetry — her favorite toy is her Marie Antoinette doll, which Pugsley guillotines for her. Although these hobbies flesh her out, they are still largely static and rooted in kooky comedy. Wednesday’s interests in Wednesday make her more modern — yet the cello and taste for horror literature are still appropriately spooky.