Wednesday spoilers follow.
Fans are desperate for Wednesday season two, with the show gaining so much popularity it has topped Stranger Things in Netflix’s viewership rankings.
The chart-topping series also won a National Television Award, scooping the prize for Best New Drama and managing to beat the likes of Beyond Paradise (beloved spin-off of BBC favourite Death in Paradise) and fellow Netflix juggernaut Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.
So what’s the secret to Wednesday Addams’ viral revival?
If you’ve been anywhere near TikTok (or a 14-year-old) in 2023, you’ll already be singing “Gonna dance-dance-dance with my hands-hands-hands above my head-head-head” and waving your arms around – even though the Lady Gaga song isn’t even in the show, such is the power of the Wednesday dance.
But there is of course far more to Wednesday than an iconic viral dancefloor sensation. There’s also the transformation of star Jenna Ortega from ex-child actress and promising supporting player (in the likes of Scream and You) to bona fide international screen idol, and the return of director Tim Burton to TV after a couple of decades of diminishing big-screen returns.
Wednesday delivers, as promised, an indulgent helping of weird and wonderful — along with some choice monochrome fashions — as it cracks open the mind of arguably the most mysterious Addams on her quest to find out who’s maiming and killing the residents of Jericho.
Naturally, we — like Wednesday — went mining for clues about the series’ future after its season one finale.
Wednesday dished up a couple of twists in season one’s ending, leaving fans to guess who that mysterious text was from, but we’ll certainly need more than speculation to satisfy our curiosity. The most obvious solution is another season, but will there be one?
Here’s everything we know about Wednesday season two.
Wednesday season 2 potential release date: When’s it back?
Hallelujah! After 10 weeks of misery following the show’s Netflix debut, the streamer officially confirmed that a second season is on the way.
On January 6, 2023, Netflix released a video in which Jenna Ortega as Wednesday says, over a montage of season-one clips and footage of fan events: “Over the past few weeks I’ve been hunted, haunted, and mimicked millions of times across the internet. It’s been pure torture. Thank you.”
Wednesday has been officially renewed for Season 2! pic.twitter.com/ekqlxP9ueW
— Netflix (@netflix) January 6, 2023
To the tune of Lady Gaga’s ‘Bloody Mary’ (see above – the dub that TikTok’s Wednesday obsessives have preferred to use in their dance tributes over the original ‘Goo Goo Muck’ by The Cramps), Netflix announced: “More misery is coming. The global phenomenon will return for season two.”
At that time, there were no details beyond the season two announcement – but there have been some developments since then. During a visit to the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix in June, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas said that the show was due to return to Netflix before 2023 was over.
Speaking to Martin Brundle on his Sky Sports F1 grid walk three months ag0, Michael said that while he was taking a break from acting, “Catherine starts on the second year of Wednesday — that’s this fall” and Catherine added it was expected on Netflix “at the end of the year”.
That being said, there has been no further word since on the status of Wednesday’s second season production. And while nothing has been confirmed officially for this show, we know that a number of hit shows have been affected and delayed by the ongoing writers and actors strikes.
Wednesday season 2 cast: Who will be coming back?
It’s unfathomable to not have Wednesday and her right-hand hand Thing return for season two, so it’s no surprise that Ortega, as part of the announcement, is reprising her role.
Wednesday’s almost-love-interest Xavier Thorpe, played by Percy Hynes White, is bound to join season two as well. Rebuffed but not forgotten, Xavier may actually have a shot now that Tyler is out of the picture.
Or is he? When we last saw Wednesday’s sort-of-boyfriend-turned-villain, he was detained, but something tells us that the guttural growl he emitted at the end of season one could lead to a breakout. If that’s the case, then we fully expect to see Hunter Doohan jump back into his Hyde skin for season two.
Catherine Zeta-Jones officially confirmed her return as Morticia Addams in June, and we suspect the following will round out the Wednesday season two cast:
- Emma Myers as Enid Sinclair
- Joy Sunday as Bianca Barclay
- George Farmer as Ajax Pertropolus
- Naomi J Ogawa as Yoko Tanaka
- Jamie McShane as Sheriff Donovan Galpin
- Luis Guzmán as Gomez Addams
- Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley Addams
- Fred Armisen as Uncle Fester
Christina Ricci’s oily Ms Thornhill could make a possible return, as she didn’t quite succeed in her ambitions during season one.
As it turns out, the seemingly sweet teacher was in cahoots with the Hyde (aka Tyler) and was out to get the outcasts. She was ultimately defeated by a swarm of Eugene’s angry bees and a kick to the face by Wednesday’s boot, but anything is possible at Nevermore…
After all, Ricci was asked about a potential return while speaking to Entertainment Tonight on the red carpet for Yellowjackets season two – and she said that she’s totally down for it! If she gets the chance, of course.
“I don’t think I’m allowed to say,” she explained, adding: “On my end, the door is open. She [Marilyn] was so fun to play! It’s always so fun to play a villain.”
Gwendoline Christie’s Larissa Weems may have bitten the big one, but there was something a little ambiguous about her death. It’s possible she could return. After all, resurrections are a thing in this world, and her story arc did seem somewhat cut short.
Christie herself even told Digital Spy: “We haven’t seen her put in the ground, have we? I feel like Larissa Weems would not really be prepared to entertain or be dominated by anything as commonplace as death.” Curious…
That said, The Sandman season two is officially on the way, and Christie is also in that, so there could be possible schedule conflicts. Fingers crossed this isn’t the case, as Christie is addictively good as both Lucifer and Weems, and we must have both!
On the other hand, poor Doctor Kinbott’s fate was not so ambiguous. Slashed and gashed, Riki Lindhome’s character is unlikely to have survived the Hyde attack and thus will probably not be back for season two.
We have also had a popular fan theory confirmed – another member of the iconic Addams Family will be joining the fun for season two, although sadly we don’t know who just yet.
Emma Myers (who took the role of Enid Sinclair in season one) responded to the idea alongside fellow cast members Hunter Doohan (Tyler Galpin) and Joy Sunday (Bianca Barclay) in a Netflix Tudum video.
“This theory speculates that season two will introduce a new member of the Addams family,” Myers read out.
“This… is… true,” they all confirmed. Ooh.
It was made clear that none of them knew who that might be, although leading star Ortega said that she would “love to see Cousin Itt” – honestly, same.
Wednesday season 2 plot: What will happen?
In a January 2023 interview with Variety, Myers, who plays Wednesday’s werewolf roommate Enid, revealed that “anything is possible in the show”.
“We haven’t really spoken about direction at all, so I don’t really know what the game plan is for anything,” Myers told the publication.
But responding to those shipping Enid and Wednesday, Myers shared that she had different hopes for season two.
“As far as love interests go for Wednesday, I feel like at least for a second season, she needs to take her season of singleness,” she said.
“She just had a whole fiasco with her men, she’s got to lay it off for a little bit. I would be deterred from dating anybody if I had gone through that.”
As for the rest of the plot direction? We mentioned loose strings, and, boy, were they left flapping in the breeze.
Wednesday’s discovery that her boyfriend was the monster terrorising Nevermore is the kind of heartbreak she didn’t seem to revel in, despite her penchant for pain. As a double dose of betrayal, he was being controlled by teacher favourite Ms Thornhill, who turned out to be a bitter normie who had an axe to grind with the outcasts.
We doubt that Tyler will continue to be Ms Thornhill’s controlled ‘pet’, but we’re almost certain he escaped. And we’re even more sure that he’ll resurface in Wednesday’s life. As a friend, lover or foe, though, is yet to be determined.
However, Hunter Doohan, who plays Tyler, certainly has his theories on the fate of his character. Speaking to Digital Spy in an exclusive interview, he said he was certain Tyler managed to evade the clutches of the law.
“I do think he escaped at the end. When I read that on the page, I was so excited. I was like: ‘Come on, don’t be dead, don’t be dead,'” he said.
When it comes to which version of Tyler (good or bad), we could see in season two, Doohan’s remark about his season one arc does shed some light.
“I think he was being controlled by Miss Thornhill,” said Doohan. “Then he had to go manipulate Wednesday to carry out their plan, and I think he did a pretty good job with it.”
If he was indeed being manipulated, it could mean that redemption is on the cards for him – that is, if he can shake Ms Thornhill’s hold.
There could be other villains worth keeping an eye on, however.
A few times, the show name-dropped the ominous presence of the Morning Songs, a cult-like group run by Bianca’s siren mother, capable of luring in new members. Bianca’s mother coerced her into agreeing to join them in order to strengthen their persuasive call.
There’s surely room and scope to elevate the Morning Songs to main villain status in Wednesday season two. Watch this space.
One thing that definitely needs clearing up is the mystery texter. Not long after Xavier gifts Wednesday a brand-new phone, she receives a cryptic, threatening text message complete with stalker-y photos of herself.
The sender? Well, that’s unknown, but it’s just the kind of danger that’s sure to light Wednesday’s soul on fire. It’s also something that will certainly help set the wheels of a season two story in motion.
The showrunners have also explained how they want to explore the Addams family’s relationships in more detail, telling TVLine: “We felt like we just touched the surface with those characters and the actors are so amazing in those roles.
“Catherine is, I think, an iconic Morticia. The relationship between Wednesday and Morticia is also essential to the show, and the idea that Wednesday is trying to forge her own path outside the family is important.”
Just don’t expect the plot to be wrapped up in Wednesday season two.
“For us, it’s always looking at the future, and when we sit down to create a show, it’s looking at multiple seasons, ideally,” showrunner Miles Millar said (via Variety).
“That’s never expected, but that’s the anticipation that hopefully the show is successful. So you always lay out at least three or four seasons’ worth of potential storylines for the characters. It can evolve and change.
“Often, you want to see which characters or cast pop and who you like to write for. So you want to keep it open and organic enough to change it and evolve, but we certainly have a pretty clear runway of what we want to do in future seasons.”
Wednesday season 2 trailer: When can I watch it?
Sigh. We’re in for a long wait, but if Wednesday’s persistent investigation has taught us anything, it’s that patience will be rewarded.
We will, of course, be at the forefront of all the latest Wednesday updates, so keep checking in. In the meantime, feel free to indulge in the stunning season one trailer above.
All episodes of Wednesday are available to stream now on Netflix.
Source: digitalspy.com