For those who thought Stranger Things would remain Netflix’s biggest show this year, get ready to change your mind. The platform’s latest hit Wednesday, a coming-of-age supernatural comedy series based on Wednesday Addams from The Addams Family, broke the record for the most hours viewed in a week for any English-language TV series on Netflix. In fact, the series premiere drew 341.23 million hours viewed in its first week, effectively beating season 4 of Stranger Things – which held 335 million hours.
The lead character, played by 20-year-old Jenna Ortega, has big shoes to fill following Christina Ricci’s notable performance in the 1991 film adaptation of The Addams Family. Ortega is no stranger to the television screen, with previous recurring roles as young Jane in the critically acclaimed CW romantic-dramedy series Jane the Virgin as well as Ellie Alves on the second season of the Netflix thriller series You.
Although Ortega is a Libra Sun (Sept. 27, 2002), she encapsulates the pinnacle of a Scorpio in her role as the macabre yet strangely delightful Wednesday Addams. She further succeeds at acting just as well as some of her seasoned co-stars, including Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia, Luis Guzmán as Gomez, and Christina Ricci as Marilyn Thornhill.
Reception of Wednesday has generally been favorable with a 69% Rotten Tomatoes score and a Metacritic rating of 66. However, the reviews from critics have been more mixed, ranging from Lena Finkel of Femestella calling out the show’s “utterly dull script,” Kelly Lawler of USA Today giving the “kitschy” Wednesday 3 out of 4 stars, and Caroline Franke of Variety Magazine raving Jenna Ortega’s “magnetic” performance despite being disappointed with the overall “predictable” plotlines.
Although Wednesday has yet to be renewed for Season 2, my bet is that Netflix will do so, especially as Ortega is receiving widespread acclaim and attention.