The “storm cloud” that is Wednesday Addams has always been a beacon for outcasts. Donned in layers of black, dropping bags of piranhas in a lap pool, and aggressively playing the cello, the character in the upcoming Wednesday comes to life in a whole new way — a Tim Burton way, to be more specific. 

“I particularly love Wednesday because she shares my worldview on things. And that was fun to explore,” Burton says in a new behind-the-scenes featurette about the making of the show. 

Burton, who serves as director and executive producer of Wednesday, sought to capture the “outsider” of it all through both visual and narrative storytelling. “Tim sees himself as an outsider,” co-showrunner and fellow executive producer Miles Millar explains. “You look back at his movies, there are characters like Wednesday, and I think this is sort of a dream come true for him, to really explore that character.”

Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams and director Tim Burton in Wednesday.

Wednesday tells the story of the Addams family through the lens of 16-year-old Wednesday Addams as she enrolls in the extraordinary Nevermore Academy — a boarding school designed for the outcasts of the world, from werewolves to sirens. As she grapples with her own psychic abilities, she contends with a local monster on the loose and a mystery that entangled her parents when they were students at Nevermore 25 years earlier.

Jenna Ortega, who was tapped to bring Burton’s vision of the older Addams family child to life, explains how Burton’s work made an impression on her early on. “I used to have consistent dreams about Beetlejuice,” she says. “Goth comes to him very naturally.” When it came to working with Burton herself, she was thrilled to discover his artistic vision included meticulous details — right down to Burton drawing versions of the monster himself. “He had a couple sketches on his table and the writers saw it, and they said, ‘That one,’” Ortega recounts.

Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia Addams (left), Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams (center) and director Tim Burton (right) in Wednesday.

His visual sensibility is also what series costume designer Colleen Atwood admires about him. “He has an amazing sense of color and style,” she says. And when it came to the colors, landscapes and scenery required to bring Wednesday’s story to life, Burton was up for the task. 

“When you have an iconic filmmaker like Tim Burton, you conjure up a visual of what his aesthetic is,” co-creator Alfred Gough says.

Director Tim Burton

Millar and Gough were thrilled to build out the world of the series with Burton and commend his ability to elevate the series with the cast of actors he was able to assemble in every role. In essence, “Tim Burton and Wednesday Addams are like a marriage made in heaven,” Millar says.

(L to R) Director Tim Burton, Cinematographer David Lazenberg in Wednesday. 

Tune in if you dare to see Wednesday Addams enroll in Nevermore Academy when the series premieres on Wednesday, Nov. 23, on Netflix.

Watch the Heartfelt Wednesday Panel at New York Comic ConHere for Jenna Ortega's sincerity and the surprise visit by Uncle Fester.