There’s a Reason Everyone’s Telling You to Watch ‘Wednesday’

At Nevermore, we are introduced to a host of new characters. There’s Principal Weems (Gwendoline Christie), the glamorous yet mysterious headmistress with a passion for improving “normie-outcast” relations. There’s Wednesday’s new roommate, Enid (Emma Myers), a peppy werewolf with multicolor claws and a school gossip vlog. In the nearby town of Jericho, there’s—much to Wednesday’s horror—a potential love interest in the form of “normie” Tyler (Hunter Doohan), the floppy haired barista and son of the local sheriff. 

After a series of brutal deaths in the woods that surround the school, Wednesday’s new life at Nevermore takes a predictably dark turn—and when Wednesday begins to have psychic visions that links her family’s mysterious past to the murders, she finds herself slipping into the role of a sort of gothic Nancy Drew.

While Wednesday does maintain the distinctly kooky, spooky spirit of the Addams Family universe, it also forges its own stylistic path. The magical boarding school, complete with ancient traditions, houses, and secret societies, conjures up an undeniable Harry Potter vibe. At the same time, the teen mystery element feels vaguely akin to Pretty Little Liars or Gossip Girl. 

Wednesday is also peppered with unmistakable nods to the teen movie genre—there’s the classic new-girl-gets-introduced-to-the-school-cliques moment, the makeover moment, the facing-up-to-the-group-of-mean-girls moment. There’s even a direct reference to the famous blood-soaked prom scene in Carrie. What we are left with is a show that feels perfectly pitched for a Gen Z audience. This is, after all, a Wednesday who says things like, “When I look at you, the following emojis come to mind: rope, shovel, hole,” and, “Are you mansplaining my power?”