Wednesday Creators Recall Casting Jenna Ortega

Netflix's Wednesday was a big hit with viewers upon its release last year, pulling in very high viewership to become one of the streamer's most popular shows of all time. A second season is in the works, so there will be more to come from this reboot of The Addams Family. The show was created by Miles Millar and Al Gough with some creative input from Tim Burton, who'd also direct half of the first season's episodes. Starring in the lead role as the titular Addams family member is Jenna Ortega, who also garnered some high praise for her take on the role.

In a new chat with IndieWire, Millar and Gough reflected on casting Ortega as Wednesday Addams. Gough knew that the casting was crucial to the success of the series, as if they didn't find the right Wednesday, they would be "dead in the water." The two reveal how Ortega was a part of the list of actresses Netflix had eyed for the role, and while they realized very early on that she was a solid choice for the casting, Gough and Millar still saw many other hopefuls after her audition just to be completely sure that they were making the right call.

"Netflix had given us a list of actresses that they liked and Jenna was definitely on that list,” Gough explained.

“But we wanted to go through the process of seeing as many people as we could, just so that we were really [sure] we found the right Wednesday," Millar added.

The creators also spoke about how Ortega became involved with crafting this character for the series, a collaboration they welcomed.

“And this character, there’s a precision to it," Gough puts it. "There’s a precision to Jenna’s performance, there’s a precision to how the character’s written, there’s a precision to what Tim does, and we all had many conversations about it because you’re just trying to make sure you’re landing the plane on a very small aircraft carrier in a very big ocean.”

Image: Netflix

Aside from Wednesday, Ortega has found a lot of success with her work in film. After acclaimed performances in the fifth Scream movie and the slasher film X, Ortega recently appeared in Scream VI. She has also been cast for a lead role in the anticipated sequel Beetlejuice 2, which will reunite her with Tim Burton. The Wednesday creators are proud to see Ortega becoming one of Hollywood's most in-demand performers at such a young age, and they suggest that maybe starring in a Netflix series is the key to becoming a Hollywood superstar.

As Millar says, “It’s catapulted her into superstardom. How do you make a movie star today? You put ’em in a hit Netflix show. That’s how it happens. And I think you see that with Jenna, and obviously it’s incredibly well deserved.”

You can stream the first season of Wednesday in its entirety on Netflix. Season 2 does not yet have a premiere date.

JEREMY DICK - Movieweb