Do you hear that? That distant popping sound? It’s the sound of Netflix bosses cracking open the champagne. On Tuesday, it was announced that Wednesday, the streamer’sseries based on the Addams Family character, had become quite the hit. According to data released by Netflix, it surpassed Stranger Things’s record as the platform’s most-watched title ever in a single week. These results claimed that the show had been streamed for a grand total of 341.2 million hours after just seven days. Brilliant news for those involved with the show, but not so great for the future of the small screen.
Wednesday is perfectly serviceable television. It’s jauntily soundtracked (Danny Elfman), indelibly costumed (Colleen Atwood) and excellently cast (John Papsidera and Sophie Holland) – without its spellbinding lead star Jenna Ortega, Wednesday risked being as dull as a dreary Monday. But even with Ortega, it can’t escape certain trappings, namely the fact that it’s essentially Gen-Z Addams Family by way of Riverdale. For a show about an adored kooky sharpshooter, who has been the source of Halloween costumes everywhere since 1992, Wednesday lacks bite and, since its release, more than three people have described it to me as decent “background” television.
