A year and a half ago, “Wednesday” lead actress Jenna Ortega revealed on a podcast that she personally rewrote some parts of the hit Netflix series.
At the time, appearing on the Armchair Expert podcast with hosts Dax Shepard and Monica Padman, she was upset her character did and said things that were really out of character for Wednesday Addams.
She said things like “her being in a love triangle made no sense” and the line “Oh, my God, I love it” which she says about a school dance dress she hated. She also indicated she had to explain to the writers why she “couldn’t do certain things.”
The comments drew criticism and controversy, especially as it was around the time of the writer’s strike. Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, who created the series, were recently asked about Ortega’s comments by THR. Gough said:
“That’s hard. We’ve done a few of these shows, like ‘Smallville,’ which was a big hit out of the gate. Suddenly, you have these young stars in the spotlight. They’re going to misstep. They’re going to say things.
I think you just have to give them grace and know that it happens. It’s never pleasant, but it just comes with the territory. I think we’re at the point now where the internet’s going to do what the internet’s going to do. What you don’t want to do is give these things oxygen.”
Millar adds that they love working with Ortega:
“We work with Jenna very closely on the show. We obviously worked with her on [‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’]. It’s always an incredibly collaborative and joyful experience.
We couldn’t be prouder of her work and we’ve embraced her as a producer on the show this year. She is one of the hardest working, most talented young actresses in the business, and we are very lucky and feel very proud that she’s working with us.”
Ortega herself has looked back on the comments during an interview with Vanity Fair for its September issue and says she should’ve been more considerate with her wording:
“I think I probably could have been …. I probably could have used my words better in describing all of that. I think it was hard because I felt like had I represented the situation better, it probably would’ve been received better.”
The second season of “Wednesday” is currently in production in Ireland with filming to wrap around October/November. A late 2025 release is looking likely.
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