The potential spinoff would focus on Fred Armisen’s character.
Netflix is looking to expand on its success with Wednesday. The streamer is reportedly in the early stages of developing a spinoff centered on the titular character’s paternal uncle, Uncle Fester, played by Fred Armisen during the first season of Tim Burton‘s Netflix series.
According to Bloomberg — which first reported the spinoff — Amazon MGM Studios, which produces the series and owns rights to the characters, is fully on board to expand the Addams family’s live-action universe.
Season 1 of Wednesday, which is adapted from The Addams Family franchise, premiered in November 2022. It featured a mix of storylines for the eponymous heroine, which saw her navigating a new school for outcasts, Nevermore Academy; juggling, in her own way, a love triangle between Tyler and Xavier; and investigating a murder mystery.
The Jenna Ortega-led series rocketed its way to the top, becoming the No. 1 show in 83 countries and the second most-watched English-language show in Netflix history.
Wednesday has since been renewed for season 2.
Ortega has earned multiple accolades for her widely acclaimed performance, including nominations for the 2023 Golden Globe Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards, as well as individual wins at the Critics’ Choice Super Awards and MTV Movie & TV Awards.
The 20-year-old star scored an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series when the full list of nominees for the 75th annual Emmy Awards were revealed in July, making her the second youngest woman ever to be nominated in the category, coming in three years older than Patty Duke, who was 17 when she was recognized for The Patty Duke Show in 1964.
During Ortega’s “Actors on Actors” conversation with The Great‘s Elle Fanning for Variety in June, the actress revealed that Wednesday season 2 would move away from romance and prioritize horror.
“It’s still coming together, but we’ve decided we want to lean into the horror more. Because it is so lighthearted, and a show like this with vampires and werewolves and superpowers, you don’t want to take yourself too seriously,” Ortega said. “We’re ditching any romantic love interest for Wednesday, which is really great. We’re going to get bolder, more dark.”
As season 2 approaches, Ortega will be adding a producer title to her credits, which the actress said was “a natural progression” and has allowed her to take part in the process much earlier.
“With a character like Wednesday, who is so beloved, I didn’t want to get her wrong. So I tried to have as many conversations as possible. On set, with the writers and Tim [Burton]. We’d decide what works and what doesn’t. In preparation for a second season, we wanted to make sure that we could start the conversations earlier,” she said, crediting the character for forcing her “out of [her] shell.” “I’m just so curious: I want to see the outfits, new characters that are coming in, scripts and they were gracious enough to let me put the producer hat on.”
The cast of Wednesday is slated to begin shooting season 2 in April, and is expected to go on into the summer.
Source: ET
