“They’re creepy and they’re kooky / mysterious and spooky / they’re all together ooky / The Addams family.”

On Nov. 23 Netflix released the highly anticipated series “Wednesday,” an eight-episode murder mystery, directed by Tim Burton. The series focuses on the Addams family’s daughter Wednesday Addams, her friends, and her companion ‘Thing,’ starring famous actors such as Jenna Ortega, Luis Guzman, and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Following the first week of its release, “Wednesday” was ranked as the number one TV show in America and was the highest-streamed English-speaking series in the first week in Netflix history, surpassing Stranger Things season 4 which was released earlier this year.

This is the first remake within the Addams family universe that actively focuses on grizzly death-related humor, witch trials, and of course the main premise of this show, a murder. 

Older series, such as “The New Addams Family” from the 1990s and “The Addams Family” from 1973, feature more lighthearted humor like family disputes and outlandish cartoony scenarios. Seeing a slightly darker take on the iconic family is a breath of fresh air from the graveyard of old 1900’s TV shows that allows the Addams to live up to all their spooky spectacularities.

The murder mystery trope is something that is either really well done in shows or is an over-the-top cliche with obvious clues as to who’s done it. “Wednesday” keeps the watcher in suspense, not really giving away any major clues as to who’s behind the crime and letting the viewer make their guesses. This saves all the plot twists for the last two episodes, with the ending being a mix of both the expected and unexpected.

Of course, out of all the episodes, one scene remains bright and vivid in the mind, which might have something to do with its rising popularity as a trend on TikTok. 

The dance in episode four at the Raven ball is phenomenal, as Wednesday stands out from the rest of her peers dressed in an all-black gown. While the rest of her peers tend to dress either in the standard blue and black striped school uniform, Wednesday appears to be “allergic” to all colors except for black and white. The only deviation from her gothic style is the modernization of some of her outfits, and by the end of season one, she’s in a cargo jacket with a simple vest and undershirt combo, as opposed to her more formal and dated outfits in the very beginning of the series. 

Another prominent scene during the ball is Wednesday’s iconic dance scene where she gets groovy to “Goo Goo Muck.”  When thinking of the ball scene, this song is the one that comes to the forefront of the mind, but it is not the only popular song in the show. The soundtrack for “Wednesday” showcases a wide variety of musical styles and genres, with songs ranging from covers of older bands such as “The Rolling Stones” to more modern music such as “Physical” from pop artist Dua Lipa.

In addition to the fantastic soundtrack, the CGI and special effects for this series are fantastic. 

Thing, a companion sent by Morticia Addams to accompany Wednesday at school, looks like a real severed hand with swelling around the stitching to make it appear like it’s just been sewn shut. 

The Hyde, a creature encountered later on in the series, looks like a mix of the werewolf model in the third Harry Potter movie and Count Dracula from the Hotel Transylvania saga, complete with strands of saliva dripping off of crooked teeth.

Overall, the series is a modern take on an old classic and introduces a new perspective on the character Wednesday, as well as all of the Addams family, while pulling off an intriguing and equally thrilling murder mystery with stunning special effects. It is worth the time spent watching the series.