Everybody’s telling you to watch Wednesday because of this

Dark braided pigtails. The black velvet long-sleeve dress. The Peter Pan collar in razor-sharp white. The always smug expression. The funny, but still disturbing one-liners. Wednesday Addams is an icon for all the misfits.

The six-year-old Wednesday first appeared onscreen in 1964’s sit-com The Addams Family. Lisa Loring illustrated her character. Christina Ricci resurrected Wednesday in 1991’s film, also known as The Addams Family. Wednesday spent her time making guillotines and using her brother as a laboratory rat for various experiments. She also took on all the all-American Girl Scouts she could find. Ricci was the ideal anti-hero for young millennials feeling out of place.

Three decades later, Wednesday is updated for a new generation with Netflix’s eight-episode series Wednesday. This Wednesday Addams has a unique Gen Z twist.

Director Tim Burton shifts Wednesday’s focus away from Addams Family to Wednesday (Jenna Ortega). She is expelled unceremoniously after she savagely maimed one of her brothers’ bullies by throwing a bag full of piranhas in her high school pool. Her parents Morticia Zeta-Jones (Catherine Zeta) and Gomez (Luis Guzman), see her expulsion as an opportunity for Wednesday to be sent to Nevermore Academy, a boarding college for children with supernaturally gifted abilities. Maybe this is where she will fit in.

We are introduced to many new characters at Nevermore. Principal Weems (Gwendoline Christine), the mysterious and glamorous headmistress who is passionate about improving relations with «normies-outcasts», is one of them. Wednesday’s roommate is Enid (Emma Myers), an adorable werewolf with multicolored claws and who also has a school gossip video. Jericho is a nearby town and Tyler, the barista with a floppy hair and son to the sheriff, could be Tyler’s love interest.

After a string of horrific deaths in the woods surrounding the school, Wednesday’s new world at Nevermore becomes dark. Wednesday also begins to experience psychic visions that link her family’s past to the murders. Wednesday finds herself falling into the role of Nancy Drew, a kind of gothic Nancy Drew.

Wednesday retains the Addams Family’s distinctly spooky, kooky spirit, but it also follows its own stylistic paths. This magical boarding school is filled with ancient traditions, secret societies, and houses. It has a Harry Potter vibe. The teen mystery element is reminiscent of Pretty Little Liars and 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. Even a reference to Carrie’s blood-soaked prom scene is included. We are left with a show that is perfectly pitched for Gen Z audiences. This Wednesday is a show that feels perfectly pitched for Gen Z audiences.

Jenna Ortega’s modern and layered Wednesday version is able to bring together seemingly disparate elements seamlessly. Ortega’s Wednesday is still darkly intelligent and gloomy. But behind her stoic facade, we occasionally glimpse emotion or even warmth.

Yes, she still speaks of smothering people or cutting off their fingers in her sleep. Yes, she still writes her novel on an old typewriter and plays dramatic renditions of «Paint It Black” on her cello. She does not use Snapchat or TikTok. We see Wednesday’s outer layer begin to thaw for the first-time. Although she may seem a bit sadistic and macabre, her reincarnation shows that she is ultimately human. Wednesday is more than a stylistic update to the Addams Family world that’s perfectly executed for teens. It’s also a long overdue update of the Addams Family world for teens. Wednesday brings back a classic outcast character in vivid color or, in Wednesday’s instance, in vivid black and white.