Netflix Is Considering a WEDNESDAY Spinoff Series for Uncle Fester
With the first season of Tim Burton’s Wednesday being such a huge success, Netflix is obviously looking at ways to expand the franchise and capitalize on that success.Bloomberg is reporting that the streaming service is considering a spinoff series that will focus on the classic Addams Family character Uncle Fester.
The report says: “… the company has also started talking about another Addams Family program, one built around Uncle Fester, played on the series by Fred Armisen. As with any TV show in development, there is no guarantee the Uncle Fester show will ever happen.”
It goes on to say: “The writers have to figure out the story, the company needs to negotiate contracts with talent, and the schedules of the individuals must align. But Netflix is eager to establish a pipeline of Addams Family programs to build off the success of Wednesday.”
Of course, they are! It makes sense that Uncle Fester would get a spinoff as he’s such a beloved character in the world of The Addams Family, and he was fantastically played by Armisen in the series.
Wednesday Season 2 is now in development with Jenna Ortega returning to take on the title role. The next season is said to “lean into the horror more.” The series also stars Luis Guzmán as Gomez and Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia in the series. The cast also includes Gwendoline Christie, Christina Ricci, Hunter Doohan, Percy Hynes White, Joy Sunday, Emma Myers, Riki Lindhome, Jamie McShane, Georgie Farmer, Naomi Ogawa and Moosa Mostafa.
The series tells the twisted coming-of-age comedy story about “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.”
Ortega previously offered some insight into the priorities that she has for the next chapter of the story, and as the story continues, it’s going to lean into the horror of the story. She explained: “We’ve decided we want to lean into the horror aspect of the show a little bit more. Because it is so lighthearted, and a show like this with vampires and werewolves and superpowers, you don’t want to take yourself too seriously.”
She went on to say: “We had already been throwing out so many ideas, and I’m somebody who’s very hands on. I want to know what’s going on, and with a character like Wednesday, who is so beloved and such a legend, I just really didn’t want to get her wrong. So I try to have as many conversations as possible. On set, with the writers and Tim [Burton], we all would get together and decide, ‘Okay, what works and what doesn’t?’ It was naturally already very collaborative. So in preparation for a second season, we wanted to get ahead of the curve and make sure that we could start the conversations earlier, and I’m just so curious. I want to see the outfits, new characters that are coming in, scripts, and they were gracious enough to let me put the producer hat on.”
Wednesday was created by Smallville creators Al Gough and Miles Millar, who also act as showrunners. What do you think about the possibility Unclude Fester getting his own spinoff series?