--- title: "Wednesday: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/tv/wednesday/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/tv/wednesday" critics_score: 62 critics_reviews: 9 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Wednesday (2022): what the critics said Critics' score 62 from 9 reviews: 5 positive, 2 mixed, 2 negative. Most critics find something to enjoy in Wednesday, with praise clustering around Jenna Ortega’s glum delivery, sharp comic timing and ability to make the character her own. The more favourable reviews also welcome the dark humour and the energy of its supernatural school mystery. Even several reviewers who question the series’ direction regard its lead performance as a substantial strength. The disagreement is over how much of the Addams Family survives the move into familiar teenage drama. Reservations centre on predictable plotting, diminished family relationships and a lack of the source material’s strangeness; some also find little distinctive in the production. The spread is wide: Collider sees a successful reinvention that retains the family’s heart and humour, while IndieWire finds a lifeless mixture of recycled ideas and teenage mystery conventions. The consensus is warmer towards Wednesday herself than towards the programme built around her. ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 23 November 2022. The series is creepy, charming and features a lead who more than matches Christina Ricci. It has enough wit, charm and propulsive energy despite some losses in family dynamic and setting. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/nov/23/wednesday-review-tim-burton-eldritch-addams-family-spin-off) ## The Telegraph Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 23 November 2022. It is a spooky, kooky and delightfully dark mash-up of genres aimed at the young, with Ortega electrifyingly glum throughout making it worth watching. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/wednesday-review-tim-burton-gives-addams-family-harry-potter/) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Daniel Fienberg Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 18 November 2022. Jenna Ortega shines as a delightful antiheroine, making the character her own with sharp comic timing, though the series as a whole feels more like an average CW dramedy than a distinctive Burtonian vision, with strong potential for improvement in a second season. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/wednesday-jenna-ortega-tim-burton-addams-family-netflix-1235263071/) ## Variety — Caroline Framke Fi1m's normalised score 55/100 (inferred from the text). 18 November 2022. Jenna Ortega delivers a magnetic performance as the teen Wednesday Addams, but the series loses the singular, viscerally strange Addams Family magic by leaning into predictable Netflix teen tropes and boarding-school mysteries. The critic singles out Ortega’s stoic yet thrillingly satisfied portrayal for praise while faulting the show’s failure to capture the family’s fierce loyalty or visual strangeness. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/wednesday-review-netflix-jenna-ortega-1235435487/) ## IndieWire — Ben Travers Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 18 November 2022. The critic finds the series a trite teen murder-mystery that mixes old ideas with new genres to a lifeless result, conforming to standard teen TV tropes rather than capturing the Addams Family spirit. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/shows/wednesday-review-addams-family-show-1234783336/) ## The Times — Joe Clay Rating ★★★☆☆. 23 November 2022. Tim Burton and the Addams Family is a winning combination, but a lack of originality leaves a far more formulaic proposition than expected. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/article/wednesday-review-netflixtim-burton-addams-family-vgk9glkbc) ## Collider — Arezou Amin Rating A-. 18 November 2022. The series succeeds as a darker, more supernatural teen mystery while retaining the heart, humor, and kooky horror of the Addams Family. It especially shines through its strong, well-cast ensemble that brings fresh energy to the characters. [Read the review](https://collider.com/wednesday-netflix-review/) ## Den of Geek — Tony Sokol Rating 3.5/5. 23 November 2022. The critic views the series as a promising opening season that normalizes outcasts while Tim Burton indulges Addams Family whims, turning Wednesday into a dark Nancy Drew who solves a monster mystery at school. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/wednesday-review-nancy-drew-meets-the-addams-family/) ## Consequence — Clint Worthington Rating C. 18 November 2022. The series feels like neither a true Addams Family story nor a typical Tim Burton work, hampered by Netflix-style pacing, flat production values, and weak execution despite decent casting and Elfman’s score. [Read the review](https://consequence.net/2022/11/wednesday-review-tim-burton-addams-family/) ## /Film — Sarah Milner Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 18 November 2022. The writing is lazy with contrived plotting, inconsistent characters, and a Mary Sue protagonist; the series lacks identity and fails to capture the satirical appeal of the source material despite some visual flair from Burton. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/1106421/wednesday-review-tim-burton-fumbles-another-franchise/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/tv/wednesday.md