Here’s How ‘Wednesday’ Creators Are Focusing On Her Latinidad for Season 2
She’s creepy and she’s kooky, but all together, Latina. You guessed it; she’s Wednesday Addams.
In a new interview with IndieWire, “Wednesday” creators Al Gough and Miles Millar outlined some of their plans for season two of the popular Netflix original. One of those plans involves giving star Jenna Ortega more creative control over the direction of her character.
Like most shows that get renewed, the idea is to go bigger and better. However, that also applies to the character’s heritage, as Gough and Millar plan to dive into Wednesday Addams’ Latina background.
Season two of “Wednesday” will dive into the character’s Latinidad
According to some breadcrumbs dropped by the show’s cast and crew, season two will attempt to tie some loose ends from the first season. Still, they will introduce a few new threads.
One of those threads involves exploring Wednesday’s life as a young Latina growing up in New Jersey before attending Nevermore Academy.
Millar, one of the show’s co-creators, said, “It’s so rare to find an iconic [Latina] character of this stature. We really try to find ways to [highlight that] authentically. What would Wednesday listen to when she was growing up? What would Gomez be playing?”
Adding that one of the most important aspects was “finding moments where we could really make it feel like a girl who’s grown up in New Jersey with a Latino parent, and how would that resonate with her as a teen? Certainly, this season we’re looking for more ways to explore that.”
Also, the other members of the Addams family will have more significant roles. Meaning more Luis Guzmán and Catherine Zeta-Jones as Gomez and Morticia, respectively. Millar is curious to dig deeper into Wednesday’s relationship with Morticia, calling Zeta-Jones “iconic.”
He said the mother-daughter relationship is “essential to the show, and the idea that Wednesday is trying to forge her own path outside the family is important.”
Season two will also give fans more of what they loved the first time around
Ortega is not only returning to the show for season two, but will also serve as one of the executive producers. She reportedly had a lot of influence on the character’s story in season one. It makes sense to have her come on board as a behind-the-scenes creative.
Ortega had no qualms about expressing her distaste for one particular subplot. It was one where Wednesday was caught in the middle of a love triangle between two other students at Nevermore Academy.
In an interview on Armchair Expert, a popular podcast hosted by Dax Shepard, she said “Her being in a love triangle made no sense.” With that in mind, there may be plans to cut the love triangle in season two as quickly as possible.
Ortega also expressed an interest in bloodying up the show a bit more. Adding more gore, according to her appearance on “The Tonight Show” earlier this year.
However, the writers’ strike is going to set things back a bit
As the WGA strike continues as writers demand better pay for their contributions. This means the future of all visual media is in limbo. Although films and TV shows are currently in production for scripts that were already in motion before the strike began, everything else is on an indefinite hiatus.
This includes season two of “Wednesday,” which may not stream until 2024. Now that Ortega and “Wednesday” director Tim Burton are collaborating on “Beetlejuice 2,” the next season could be on the back burner for the time being.