Picture: Netflix
After becoming one of Netflix’s most successful shows of all time, it was inevitable that Wednesday would return for a second season. Here’s everything we know so far about season 2 of Wednesday, including the latest reports on when the show will get back into production, what we can expect from the story, who’s returning, and analyzing the show’s success.
Wednesday was one of the most anticipated Netflix shows of 2022, with all eight episodes landing on Netflix globally on November 23rd, 2022.
Since its arrival, it’s become one of Netflix’s most-watched titles of all time and scored 12 Emmy nominations (only DAHMER and BEEF scored more from Netflix’s roster), including nods for best overall comedy series, Jenna Ortega for lead actress and Tim Burton for directing.
Warning: this is a big preview of the second season, so here are some quick links to help you find out what we know so far. There may also be spoilers throughout.
When was Wednesday renewed for season 2?
Official Netflix Renewal Status: Renewed on January 6th, 2023
Wednesday exceeded all expectations and is proving to be one of the most successful Originals on Netflix in its history, not just one of the biggest of 2022.
On January 6th, Netflix confirmed the show would return for a second season although Netflix did not confirm how many episodes season 2 would consist of.
By that point, however, it had been an open secret that the show had been renewed, with a writer’s room reportedly opened and numerous teases over the Christmas period.
“It’s been incredible to create a show that has connected with people across the world,” said Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, the two showrunners of the series, adding that they’re “Thrilled to continue Wednesday’s tortuous journey into season two. We can’t wait to dive headfirst into another season and explore the kooky spooky world of Nevermore. Just need to make sure Wednesday hasn’t emptied the pool first.”
How well did Wednesday Season 1 perform on Netflix?
As you may have heard, Wednesday, in pretty quick succession became one of Netflix’s biggest shows in its history.
Before Summer 2023, Netflix ranked its titles based on its first 28 days on the service. Using that system, Wednesday was the second biggest English language show in its history, with only Stranger Things season 4 ranking higher.
Netflix has since changed its top 10 list to 91 days, where Wednesday holds the record at 1,718,800,000 (1.72B) hours watched, equating to 252,100,000 (252M) completed viewing equivalents.
Netflix’s top 10 all-time English TV list (28-day metric)
It’s ranked 20 weeks in the global Netflix top 10s, clocking in 1.806 billion hours of watch time in those 20 weeks. It also ranked 14 weeks in the Nielsen top 10s (which tracks US-connected device viewing), picking up 412.08 million hours watched.
Per Netflix, here are some of the other records the show managed to break:
“The series broke the record for the most hours viewed in a week for an English-language TV series on Netflix – not once, but twice – when it debuted in the #1 spot with a record breaking 341.23M hours viewed, and again in its second week with a staggering 411.29M hours viewed.
To date, Wednesday has had six consecutive weeks with over 100+M hours viewed on the English TV List — another record!
On TikTok, #WednesdayAddams has amassed over 22 Billion views
The Wednesday soundtrack reached #1 on the iTunes Soundtrack chart where it remained in the Top 10 for three weeks. Wednesday Addams, the artist, now has over 1 Million followers on Spotify.
On Spotify, “Goo Goo Muck” by The Cramps saw a streaming increase of more than 9.5K% compared to the month prior to the series release.
Wednesday’s iconic dance scene has gone massively viral across global social media. Fan generated content utilizing “Bloody Mary” by Lady Gaga led to a streaming increase of more than 1,800% of the song on Spotify compared to the month prior the series release. Even Lady Gaga joined in on the fun.
With over 80 Million views and counting, fans can’t get enough of the cast’s reaction to the iconic dance scene video.”
What to expect from Wednesday Season 2
First and foremost, let’s look at what showrunners have teased for the show’s future. Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, they’ve said:
“For us, the show also is really about this female friendship, with Wednesday and Enid really being at the center of that. The fact that they really connected with audiences, it has been really gratifying. So, we’re excited to explore now that Wednesday’s dipped her toe into the friendship pool, what’s that gonna look like?”
Numerous sources suggest a major new character will appear in Wednesday season 2. Amongst the speculation as to who that could be is Cousin Itt, Purbert, Grandma Addams, or Mama.
Jenna Ortega spoke to Variety in June 2023 and gave them some insight into the new season and what we can expect from the tone where she said:
“It’s still coming together, but we’ve decided we want to lean into the horror more. We’re ditching any romantic love interest, which is really great. We’re going to get bolder, more dark. I’ve never had to do a serious period piece before. Was there anything you have to do to make sure things are accurate?”
Jenna Ortega attends The 2023 Met Gala – Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
At Netflix TUDUM in Brazil in June 2023, Jenna Ortega and some of the other cast was part of the live stream in a small video where she addressed theories for season 2:
Now, let’s move on to the lingering questions for season 2:
Who is Wednesday’s stalker?
Immediately after switching on the phone, Xavier had bought her, Wednesday was sent some ominous messages as she gleefully realized she had acquired her first stalker.
We already know that Wednesday had a limited online presence thanks to her negative stance towards social media. But considering Xavier is the one to give her a brand new phone, it’s impressive a stalker was already able to send her messages. But thanks to her antics, it’s no surprise Wednesday has picked up lots of attention.
Xavier will hope to be more than just a friend to Wednesday next season – picture. Netflix
What will Tyler do next?
We last saw Tyler in chains, being transported to what would have been a maximum security prison or psychiatric ward. However, before the transport could make its journey, Tyler transformed into his Hyde form, leading the audience to assume he had killed all of the armed guards.
With Tyler on the loose and without his master, will he be more dangerous? Or will he try to redeem himself so he can return to Jehrico?
Will Tyler wreak havoc on the students of Nevermore again? – picture. Netflix
Who will be the next Principal of Nevermore?
With the death of Larissa Weems, Nevermore Academy has been left without a principal. There’s also an extremely limited pool of candidates that could take the job.
The showrunners have teased that closing the school has given them a broad canvas for season 2, telling THR, “The school was closed when they left, which gave us the most possibilities for season two, and I think that’s something that we’re excited to explore.”
The most obvious choice would be for Morticia Addams, Wednesday’s mother, to be offered the job. As a former Nevermore student and a Nightshades member, Morticia would be the most competent person to take over. However, Wednesday would do everything within her power to remove her mother as principal, with hilarious and likely disastrous results.
If Morticia is given the job of principal of Nevermore, this would require Catherine Zeta-Jones to be bumped up to a series regular.
Wednesday would be less than delighted to see her mother become the principal of Nevermore – picture. Netflix
What will happen to Laurel?
With her true identity revealed, Laurel was able to resurrect Jeremiah Crackstone, but thanks to Wednesday, he was defeated. It was also revealed that she was the master of Tyler, as she manipulated the teenager into transforming into a hyde.
Laurel’s plans have been thwarted for now, but if Tyler comes to the rescue of his master, the duo could have more nefarious plans for Nevermore and the outcasts.
Marilyn aka Laurel was pretending to be Wednesday’s ally all along – picture. Netflix
Will Pugsley join Nevermore?
It’s unclear what the age difference is between Pugsley and Wednesday. However, we do know that they both attended the same high school together before Wednesday’s transfer to Nevermore. The whole family could move with her if Morticia is offered the principal position at Nevermore. Wednesday’s reaction would be priceless as she would naturally do everything within her power to stop him from trying to hang out with her.
The only one who is allowed to bully Pugsley is Wednesday. picture. Netflix
Who are the cast members of Wednesday season 2?
We could expect the following cast members to reprise their roles in the second season of Wednesday:
- Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams
- Riki Lindhome as Dr. Valeria Kinbott
- Jamie McShane as Sheriff Donovan Galpin
- Hunter Doohan as Tyler Galpin
- Percy Hynes White as Xavier Thorpe
- Emma Myers as Enid Sinclair
- Moosa Mostafa as Eugene Otinger
- Joy Sunday as Bianca Barclay
- Georgie Farmer as Ajax Petropolus
- Naomi J. Ogawa as Yoko Tanaka
- Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia Addams
- Luis Guzmán as Gomez Addams
- Fred Armisen as Uncle Fester
- Victor Dorobantu as Thing
- George Burcea as Lurch
- Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley Addams
While it seems Gwendoline Christie’s character of Larissa Weems died of Nightshade poisoning, there’s always a chance that the character could return in some capacity through flashbacks.
Christina Ricci’s character of Marylin Thornhill, aka Laurel, was defeated, but we don’t know exactly her ultimate fate. Which means the actress could return to reprise her role.
We should note that The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Jenna Ortega has stepped up beyond an acting role and will also serve as a producer in the new season.
When will Wednesday Season 2 Release on Netflix?
Prep for season 2 of Wednesday began early in 2023, according to an interview with Glamour magazine with Jenna Ortega, who told them:
“We are starting to prep season two of Wednesday, which…has been exciting. Just developing new storylines and seeing where characters are going. Starting those conversations has been really, really fun. I think it’s going to be bigger and better, which is cool.”
Production listings for the show’s second season stated throughout early 2023 that the show was eying a Fall 2023 production start date (some just stated by the end of 2023), meaning it won’t get into filming until September 2023 at the earliest.
During a Formula 1 grid walk on Sky Sports F1, Martin Brundle spoke to Michael Douglass and Catherine Zeta-Jones, who confirmed that filming was currently due to take place in Fall 2023.
Subsequent production listings have stated that filming is currently scheduled to begin in October 2023 in Romania under the codename PILGRIM. Reports suggest season 2 will cost between $5 and $7 million an episode.
Much of the progress of the second season has been halted due to the ongoing Hollywood strikes, however.
The WGA (writers) were on strike between May and September 2023, meaning no scripts have been worked on between those dates. Following the end of the writer’s strike in late September, Variety reported that work on Wednesday season 2 (alongside Stranger Things season 5) was being prioritized internally at Netflix.
SAG-AFTRA (the union representing actors) began its strike in July 2023, meaning that as it stands, unless a resolution can be found for that strike, no filming will begin in the Autumn as planned.
As a reminder, filming for the first season took six months between September ’21 and March ’22, eventually releasing in November 2022.
Given the strikes, making an accurate prediction is tricky.
At the moment, even a late 2024 release date is looking increasingly unlikely. Given the prolonged strikes, it could be 2025 when we eventually get to see the second season.
One source indicated that Wednesday’s license time on Netflix was recently extended by two years (more on this here), with it currently set to leave Netflix, as it stands, on November 20th, 2034. Could this mean that Netflix is eying a November 20th, 2024, release date?
Are you excited for the second season of Wednesday on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below!