Wednesday mastermind vows that Jenna Ortega is the ‘reason Netflix phenomenon exists’

Wednesday director and executive producer Tim Burton has praised Jenna Ortega as one of the foundational reasons the show exists.

Burton, 66, joined the Netflix cast at the London premiere for the second season of the show this week, ahead of the release of the first four episodes on the streamer next Wednesday (get it). 

During the red carpet, Burton stopped to speak with Metro about the phenomenon of the first season, which became the most-watched English-language show on Netflix when it was released in 2022.

As well as sharing that his favourite day of the week isn’t actually Wednesday (it’s Friday night), Burton spoke about his love of the affectless Addams character, saying that she was why he first got involved with the show.

‘I was very grateful that it connected to people,’ he said. ‘I grew up on Charles Addams drawings and I was a child when the first Addams Family show came out.

‘But for me, it was the character of Wednesday that really spoke to me.’

The show’s star Jenna Ortega, 22, has said she begged to be a producer on the first season of the show, but said in an interview with Vanity Fair that she was told it was not common for actors to produce in a first season.

Ortega then came under fire from some after publicly criticising elements of the writing on the show’s first season, saying that she ‘put her foot down’ behind the scenes on several occasions after disagreeing with decisions about the character.

While the Scream star was praised for some of her remarks, a number of writers on social media called out the comments as ‘beyond entitled and toxic’.

Ortega has since taken a step up on the Wednesday season two production and is among the credited executive producers.

Speaking about Ortega’s impact on the production, Burton told Metro that she’s ‘a big part of the reason the show exists’.

‘Even on season one, I remember the first day of shooting, she was there, she was watching everything,’ said the director. 

‘She’s very, very, very smart about everything that’s going on in front and behind the camera.’

Wednesday’s second season launches on August 6, with the second part arriving on September 3.

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