Jenna Ortega became a global star when she played Wednesday Addams in Tim Burton’s supernatural mystery series Wednesday. Based on the popular The Addams Family characters, the show put Ortega’s Wednesday in Nevermore Academy as she learned valuable lessons and unraveled a mystery threatening the school.

Ortega joined Burton again in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. While promoting the film, the actress was given a comparison between Wednesday and the Harry Potter franchise, which seemed to blow her mind. The show has often been compared to the Wizarding World due to the similar setting and themes.

Jenna Ortega Reacts To Wednesday Being Compared To Harry Potter

A still from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | Credits: Warner Bros.

A troubled teen is expelled from their actual school and is sent to a fantastical academy by their absent parents, where they begin to unravel a mystery within the school that teaches them valuable life lessons. The plot seems to be general enough to fit both Netflix’s Wednesday and JK Rowling’s Harry Potter franchise.

However, the difference lies in the details and the world that is created by each of their makers. While Rowling sets her protagonist as an orphan wizard who discovers his magical community as they face another dark age, Burton’s Wednesday gives it a gothic flavor and makes Jenna Ortega’s character a troublesome kid with psychic powers.

Jenna Ortega in Wednesday | Credits: Netflix

Still, Ortega was pleasantly surprised when Buzzfeed UK compared the two in a guessing game for the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice cast. The interviewer described Wednesday as,

Imagine Harry Potter. But if everyone is into goth and emotional detachment.

While Ortega immediately guessed that it referred to Wednesday, the keyword ‘goth’ probably giving it away, she still seemed to be fascinated by the comparison.

Tim Burton’s Wednesday Shares Many Troupes With Harry Potter

A still from Wednesday | Credits: Netflix

The Netflix series Wednesday moved away from The Addams Family’s traditional mansion setting to Wednesday Addams’ schooling at the Nevermore Academy. Billed as a coming-of-age drama but with a supernatural twist, the show gained immense popularity, fueled by Jenna Ortega’s incredible performance as the deadpan Wednesday.

As noted, the show borrows heavily from various young adult troupes, most notably from the Harry Potter franchise. The setting of a mystical school, an attack from a nefarious source on the school, and the theme of friendship among oddballs are just some of the similarities between the two. Fans have also agreed to this comparison.

Not knocking it at all, but this is very accurate. Actually, it was like Harry Potter mixed with a teenage drama

— Trent (@atxtrent) September 8, 2024

The upcoming second season might build more on the academic life of the students at Nevermore Academy, much like how the Harry Potter series built on their lessons at Hogwarts.