Netflix has been looking for the big fantasy hit for years, a franchise that rivals Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones. Attempts like Fate: The Winx Saga, The Witcher or Cursed – The Chosen Ones were either short-lived, plagued by chaos or failed immediately after Season 1. Wednesday is the start of a new fantasy series on the streaming service. She does a lot, if not everything, right. Whether the 8 episodes worth ityou can find out here in the spoiler-free short check.
What is Wednesday about?
Wednesday – S01 Trailer (German) HD
Wednesday comes from the Addams Family Universe, in which comics, (animation) series and the two films by Barry Sonnenfeld were created: The Addams Family and the even better The Addams Family in a crazy tradition from the nineties. The Addams clan is characterized by its devotion to the morbid, the torturous, and the dark. The family consists of the heads Morticia and Gomez and the siblings Pugsley and … Wednesday. In the two films, the latter was embodied by Christina Ricci. Jenna Ortega takes the reins in the Netflix series.
Her Wednesday is expelled from school after she crushes her brother’s bullies fed piranhas. The student is then sent to Nevermore Academy, a boarding school for youngsters with special powers that her parents were already attending. There, Wednesday not only learns to control her own powers, she also has to solve a murder and face dark forces.
What’s so good about Wednesday?
Wednesday is a dark goth crime thriller with fantasy and horror interludes. For example, if you liked Harry Potter parts 2 to 4, you will also enjoy the Netflix series: Magic, a boarding school in a quaint castle and a mysterious crime plot. Because in Nevermore there is a monster that kills students, a little bit like the basilisk in The Chamber of Secrets. Otherwise you will discover many characters that could be ripped 1 to 1 from the Hogwarts world (there is a Ron and a Neville).
©Netflix
Netflix and her cold-handed sidekick
Wednesday clears that Carry out Sherlock Holmes-style murders, resulting in an extremely entertaining mix. But the big highlight of the series is Jenna Ortega. The stars of You Season 2, Scream and most recently X could have their big break here. The actress teases great comedy moments out of her cynical, emotionless, but extremely competent main character. And if Wednesday is Sherlock, there must also be a Watson: that role is filled by Cold Hand – a faithful, severed, conscious five-fingered limb, see image.
What are Wednesday’s weaknesses?
It’s no coincidence that we haven’t mentioned this yet: master director Tim Burton (Edward Scissorhands) directed the first 4 episodes and was therefore largely responsible for the design of the first season. Only: You don’t notice much of that. Wednesday, like so many Netflix fantasy products, hastily completed. Apparently there wasn’t enough time and, above all, enough budget to create a deep, breathing fantasy world. This judgment is particularly painful for a director who loves detail like Tim Burton.
The first 8 episodes of Wednesday are now available to stream on Netflix.
*. . .