Tim Burton's New TV Series On Wednesday Addams Is Coming To Netflix

Tim Burton’s live-action Addams Family series is now official! Burton's TV directorial debut will focus on the iconic character of Wednesday Addams and her time as a student at Nevermore Academy. Netflix has landed the series titled Wednesday which will have eight episodes. According to Deadline, the coming-of-age comedy is written by Smallville creators Al Gough and Miles Millar. “Wednesday 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 at Nevermore,” according to a press release.

“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,” said Teddy Biaselli, Netflix’s Director Original Series, calling Wednesday “the ultimate lone wolf” character. “We then got the call that visionary director and lifelong Addams Family fan Tim Burton wanted to make his television directorial debut with this series. Tim has had a history of telling empowering stories about social outsiders like Edward Scissorhands, Lydia Deitz, and Batman. And now he brings his unique vision to Wednesday and her spooky classmates at Nevermore Academy.” Burton had previously developed and executive produced an animated Beetlejuice series that ran from 1989 to 1991.

Christina Ricci's portrayal of the character is perhaps the most memorable. She played Wednesday Addams in both feature films, The Addams Family in 1991 and sequel Addams Family Values in 1993. The Addams Family has been featured in multiple renditions. The original story was created by American cartoonist Charles Addams in 1938 and the most recent retelling of the spooky family was in an animated movie from MGM with the sequel dropping in 2021. Chloë Grace Moretz voiced Wednesday in MGM’s 2019 animated movie The Addams Family.

As for Tim Burton's version, the series may just be targetted for mature audiences. The quirky director has always had a unique take on outcasts and working with dark comedic themes, so it'll be interesting to see how his rendition of Wednesday will turn out. According to We Got This Covered, insider Daniel Richtman reportedly revealed on his Patreon page that the Addams Family live-action TV series will be rated R and aimed at older audiences. There was also a lot of speculation of Johnny Depp playing Gomez Addams. According to reports, it's not just fans who want Depp on board, but the director himself who has worked with Depp multiple times.

Small Screen reports that sources close to Netflix have allegedly said Tim Burton is very keen on having Depp play Gomez Addams and thinks that he would "do the role justice". One insider shared, "It’s full steam ahead on Netflix’s The Addams Family. Tim Burton wants Johnny Depp to play Gomez Addams. He thinks he would do the role justice." Another source revealed, "Depp is in talks to star as Gomez Addams in The Addams Family. It was Tim Burton’s idea. It seems as though Netflix are the ones who have to be convinced."