Wednesday, a Netflix original series based on the character from the classic film The Addams Family, has encountered a setback due to the departure of a key cast member.
After its premiere in November 2022, the series became one of the streaming service's most popular titles as a spin-off of The Addams Family focused on the character made famous by actress Christina Ricci.
Who Left the Show and Why?
(L-R) Yvette Nicole Brown, Gwendoline Christie, Jenna Ortega, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Colleen Atwood, Luis Guzmán, Alfred Gough, Jen Malone, Danny Elfman and Miles Millar speak onstage during Netflix's "Wednesday" ATAS Official Event at Hollywood Forever Cemetery on April 29, 2023 in Hollywood, California.
Soon after the success of the show's first season, a second one was demanded. And as Wednesday, Jenna Ortega was cast as the telepathic adolescent again during her time at Nevermore Academy. The Hollywood strikes started when production was already underway in Romania; thus, the shooting had to be stopped immediately, according to the Independent.
Five months into the strike, Wednesday has now suffered a blow with the announcement that Thora Birch had to leave the program before her parts were finished. She was cast in a regular role in the second season, portraying Wednesday's dorm mother, Tamara Novak.
MGM, which produces the series, said in a statement to Deadline: "Thora has returned to the States to attend to a personal matter and will not be returning to the production."
Birch reportedly had to return home to take care of a family member's sickness. According to the report, Birch "finished filming the bulk" of her part despite not finishing her sequences. This, however, does not guarantee that any works by Birch will be shown in the series.
It has been suggested that producers would need to introduce a new character to end the character's storyline, yet it is presently unknown if Birch will be replaced or her sequences will be reshot.
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What We Know About Season 2 So Far
The first season of Netflix's Wednesday, created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, was so successful that it was streamed for a record-breaking 341.2 million hours in its first week of release. It surpassed the previous benchmark set by Stranger Things.
As expected, Ortega will be back as Wednesday in the show. Plus, she will be an executive producer!
Prior to the strikes, Ortega was set to reunite with Wednesday producer Tim Burton on the set of Beetlejuice 2, adding to her list of past projects that include Ti West horror X and the fifth and sixth Scream flicks.
Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzmán, who previously played Morticia and Gomez Addams, respectively, will also be returning for season two with Ortega.
According to a Buzzfeed report last month, Ortega said that Season 2 will have a greater amount of blood and terror than Season 1. She also announced that this time, it will not have a romantic interest for Wednesday, ending the love triangle from the first.
The release of Wednesday Season 2 is scheduled for late 2024.
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