After almost three years, Wednesday Season 2, Part 1, has dropped on Netflix, and Jenna Ortega is back as the one and only Wednesday Addams in the Addams Family spinoff that became a global phenomenon in 2022. Directed by Tim Burton and created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar the first 4 episodes released on August 6 2025 go deeper into the gothic world of Nevermore Academy and deliver a mix of dark humor, intricate mysteries and a great cast. While the season retains the charm that made the first one a record breaker, it struggles with an overcrowded narrative and a split-season format that leaves you hanging, earning an 85% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes with 41 reviews.
Wednesday returns to Nevermore after a summer of hunting a serial killer and finds herself dealing with the consequences of fame after her Season 1 heroics against demon-pilgrim Joseph Crackstone. Ortega’s deadpan delivery is the show’s engine, Wednesday navigating a new murder mystery with killer crows and a cryptic stalker while having unsettling visions of Enid (Emma Myers) dying. The show’s visuals are stunning, the Burtonesque gothic look shines in moments like a black and white claymation sequence like Frankenweenie and the production values are big, it’s Netflix’s biggest shoot in Ireland ever.
This season, the Addams Family is more prominent, with Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Gomez (Luis Guzmán) on campus for a fundraising event, with Pugsley (Isaac Ordonez) now a student with electric powers. The dynamic between Wednesday and Morticia is strained due to psychic issues and black tears streaming from Wednesday’s eyes. Zeta-Jones is fantastic. Newbies Steve Buscemi as Principal Dort and Joanna Lumley as Grandmama Frump bring some much needed energy, some like Billie Piper and Thandiwe Newton feel underused in the big cast. Thing (Victor Dorobantu) and Uncle Fester (Fred Armisen) steal scenes and Slurp the zombie sidekick brings the laughs.
But Wednesday Season 2 bites off more than it can chew. The influx of characters and subplots – from Enid’s lacklustre love triangle with Ajax (Georgie Farmer) and Bruno (Noah B. Taylor) to Pugsley’s zombie antics – dilutes the focus on Wednesday herself and makes the story feel messy at times. Critics say the show can’t balance teen drama, supernatural intrigue and Addams Family lore and the Nevermore setting feels like Hogwarts. Splitting the season into two with Part 2 coming September 3 2025 is frustrating as the cliffhanger ending leaves major plot threads unresolved. Variety calls it unnecessary given the show is bingeable.
Despite the problems, Wednesday Season 2 is a fun one, thanks to Ortega’s charisma and Burton’s sense of humor. The mysteries are good, the humor lands when it goes for the Addams’ dark humor and the cast’s chemistry keeps it afloat. It doesn’t recapture the magic of Season 1 but builds on what it has, with enough twists and visuals to keep you hooked. Part 2 promises to solve the stalker and crow mysteries, so Wednesday Season 2, Part 1 is a wild, if bloated, return to Nevermore and the show’s dark heart is still beating.