Wednesday Star Jenna Ortega Now Producing the Hit Netflix Series

Netflix has released a first look at Billie Piper as a new character in Wednesday season 2. The 42-year-old actress will play Isadora Capri, the gothic, music-loving, former child prodigy who heads up music at Wednesday’s school, Nevermore Academy.

Billie Piper is no stranger to the world of gothic supernatural fiction, having played Brona Croft/The Bride of Frankenstein in Penny Dreadful. The new series will see her take up the mentorship of Wednesday Addams’ (Jenna Ortega) musical ability, as well as that of werewolf student Enid Sinclair (Emma Myers, also returning).

The official first look of Billie Piper as Isadora Capri in Wednesday comes as Netflix made major announcements about the future of the record-breaking series. Wednesday first premiered in November 2022 and quickly became one of Netflix’s biggest hits of all time. Globally, it was watched by 252 million viewers in its first year and was the streamer’s largest English-language series debut of all time. The show was renewed for a second season in January 2023, and now the cast has all returned to film the new chapter, which is set to be released in August this year.

Wednesday: Jenna Ortega’s Bony Right Arm Gets Too Much Screen Time, Fans Believe The Symbolism

The series is a darker take on the Addams Family franchise, centered on the iconic Wednesday Addams (played by 22-year-old Jenna Ortega). The show sees Wednesday arriving at Nevermore Academy, a school for supernatural misfits, where she must balance her schoolwork with her life as a rebellious teenage monster, mucking up with werewolves and laughing maniacally in the corridors. The show drew viewers in with its perfect combination of horror, comedy, and gory teen angst and won critical acclaim, notching up an Emmy nomination along the way. The project also attracted a sizable fanbase, which was only expanded when the official Wednesday Addams Spotify playlist became one of the service’s most viral new additions.

Wednesday Has Been Renewed for a Season Three, and a Spin-Off Is Underway

The big reveal of Billie Piper’s new character on Wednesday was accompanied by some more great news for fans of the smash hit series. Netflix has confirmed that Wednesday has been renewed for a third season. In addition to this, the streaming giant is also working on a spin-off of the hit Wednesday series. The project is said to be “in development”, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Co-creator Alfred Gough shared: “It’s something we’re noodling; there are other characters we can look at. That’s in the hopper and hopefully will get there.”

Twitter and Instagram were awash with fan reactions to the announcement, and even Catherine Zeta-Jones, who plays Wednesday’s mother, Morticia Addams, has confirmed the renewal of Wednesday in a cryptic Instagram post: “When Wednesday comes, a better day. Wednesday season three. It’s official… we shall return.” Fans then rushed to the comments to share their excitement, with many writing, “And for many more seasons,” “I can’t wait to see the second season, I’m waiting for it with great curiosity… and the third is already official, fantastic news!” and “OMG THIS IS SUCH A RELIEF I’m crossing my fingers that they start shooting soon though because 2 years might be too long between seasons 2 and 3 as much as I wanna support the demand for the 3rd now!”

Season two of Wednesday has already been announced over a year in advance. However, some fans are worried that this gap is too long and have suggested that the crew try and get the filming for season three started as soon as possible. Season two will air over two years after the series’ original debut, leading some viewers to demand a shorter wait in the future. One wrote, “I’ll be gripping the sheets in agony waiting, but please… don’t let us wait three years again.”

The return of Wednesday sees director and executive producer Tim Burton, 66, back at the helm. Burton recently worked with Wednesday star Jenna Ortega on Beetlejuice, the upcoming sequel to the 1988 cult comedy classic, where Ortega also features.

Other big names set to feature in Wednesday season 2 include Lady Gaga, Steve Buscemi, Joanna Lumley, and Thandiwe Newton. The regular cast members from the first season are also set to return to Nevermore Academy, including Gwendoline Christie as headteacher Larissa Weems and Luis Guzmán as Wednesday’s father, Gomez Addams.

Wednesday’s leading lady Jenna Ortega has also stepped up to become an executive producer on the second season of the series. Ortega has been in the spotlight recently due to some backlash about an interview she gave to the Skol Hei podcast. The actor said in the interview that her lines were often changed on the show, and “I had to put my foot down in that way because it was just not consistent in my opinion. If I’m going to play Wednesday, I want her to be Wednesday.”

Director Tim Burton has publicly supported Ortega, suggesting that her words in the interview had been misconstrued and “misrepresented” by fans, while series co-creator Alfred Gough has confirmed that the 22-year-old’s new role as executive producer makes complete sense since she has already been so heavily involved in creative discussions throughout season one. Gough noted Ortega offered “fabulous notes” and was “everywhere in the construction of the show”.

Joanna Lumley has also shared her excitement about joining the project, noting: “There’s always something thrilling about working for Tim Burton. His whole mind takes him to a different world, and the world that they’ve created here for Wednesday and Nevermore and the family is just intoxicating.”

In addition to a new season of Wednesday and a spin-off in development, there have been other big announcements for fans of the genre in recent weeks. The sequel to Netflix horror Sweet Girl has been confirmed for release in July this year. The recent release of Sleep Dealer 2 also teased fans with its first images back in March. In another upcoming comic book thriller, the third installment of the Kaos Rising trilogy from The Old Guard star KiKi Layne was shot earlier this month.