Wednesday

Wednesday retains all the hallmarks that make the stories and the characters special. It succeeds very well at pushing the story outside its usual genre and into something a little more grown-up, and a little more supernatural, but never loses sight of the heart, humor, and kooky horror that have kept us all double-snapping for decades.

Wednesday successfully captures the growing pains of being 16 without taking itself too seriously, serving to be an entertaining and binge worthy addition to this year’s renaissance of teen television. Ortega’s performance is by far the highlight, tackling Wednesday’s complexities with an ease that truly cements her status as the new horror It girl.

It’s Ortega’s star power alone that helps drive this series from the very beginning into something that could have been mediocre into a totally watchable and exciting twist on a familiar franchise. ... While this adaptation makes some strange decisions, it ends up working in a weird way, which will interest both old and new viewers.

It loses something by not setting Wednesday against normality, as the films did, and by having a more fissured version of the Addams clan. The love and unity of the family against the world was always one of the great pleasures, in whatever incarnation you met them. But it has enough wit, charm and propulsive energy for that not to matter as much as it might have.

Although the main character’s name was inspired by the poetic line “Wednesday’s child is full of woe,” “Wednesday” is generally a delight, thanks almost entirely to Jenna Ortega. Having outgrown her Disney Channel days, Ortega makes the Addams Family’s now-high-school-age daughter the coolest humorless goth sociopath you’ll ever meet, in a Netflix series that’s more kooky than spooky or ooky.

With a script that doesn’t take itself too seriously, a knowing wink at the audience, some genuinely scary bits and a committed and very funny central performance from Ortega that more than holds its own (even if Ricci and Addams Family Values remain unbeaten), this is a treat.

“Wednesday” succeeds thanks to its familiar protagonist and her macabre-loving family.

With Ortega electrifyingly glum throughout, Wednesday is worth watching any day of the week.

The series rarely feels derivative, and the predictable plot doesn't mean it's not entertaining. "Wednesday" may aspire to the greatness of "Buffy," but comes across on the agreeably kitschy side of "Teen Wolf."

This is a Tim Burton production, so it looks great. But looks wouldn't matter if Jenna Ortega's deadpan wasn’t just as elastic as it needed to be — she consistently pushes outside the caricature enough to keep things lively.

Thanks to Ortega’s wildly entertaining blur of arch broadness and subtlety, plus creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar’s refusal to over-explain or over-evolve the eternally nihilistic goth favorite, Wednesday gets to come into her own here. Though the overall series is rarely quite at its leading lady’s level — adjust your expectations for more of an above-average CW dramedy — there are enough promising elements that I hope Wednesday gets the opportunity to make a second season with some refinements.