The Latin influence has been apparent in The Addams Family for decades, but it seems like Netflix’s Wednesday is pushing it even further.
Our favorite goths have been kooky and spooky, but there’s no doubt the characters have a Latin aspect to their background. Even back to a 1964 episode of Addams Family, Gomez says his “ancestral land” is Spain. Then we look at the modern hiring of actors like the Puerto Rican Raul Julia and Mexican Luis Guzman to see that we’ve kept that part alive.
The minds behind the hit series Wednesday say it would be wild not to capitalize on the chance to depict an iconic Latina character and even dive further into what that means for her in this story.
Speaking to IndieWire, the series co-creators Miles Millar and Al Gough confirmed we’ll explore that side of Wednesday’s legacy.
Millar tells the outlet, “It’s so rare to find an iconic [Latina] character of this stature. We really try to find ways to [highlight that] authentically. What would Wednesday listen to when she was growing up? What would Gomez be playing? And finding moments where we could really make it feel like a girl who’s grown up in New Jersey with a Latino parent, and how would that resonate with her as a teen? Certainly, this season we’re looking for more ways to explore that.”
As for launching the young Mexican and Puerto Rican actress to another level with this show, the filmmaker is overjoyed.
“It’s catapulted her into superstardom,” said Millar. “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.”
At the time of writing, there’s no official release date for Netflix’s Wednesday Season 2.
The series is a sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery charting Wednesday Addams’ years as a student at Nevermore Academy. Wednesday’s attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a monstrous killing spree that has terrorized the local town, and solve the supernatural mystery that embroiled her parents 25 years ago — all while navigating her new and very tangled relationships at Nevermore.
Wednesday stars Jenna Ortega as Wednesday, Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia, Luis Guzmán as Gomez, Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley, and Fred Armisen as Uncle Fester alongside a cast that also includes Gwendoline Christie, Hunter Doohan, Percy Hynes White, Joy Sunday, Emma Myers, Riki Lindhome, Jamie McShane, Georgie Farmer, Naomi Ogawa, and Moosa Mostafa.
Wednesday is streaming now on Netflix.
