Who's the new Wednesday Addams?

Ever since Tim Burton announced a few months ago that he would make a live-action series on Wednesday Addams for Netflix, the hype around the new project has been growing. Most of the curiosity was to know the name of who, after Christina Ricci in the 1990s films and Lisa Loring in the 1960s OG series, would play the role of the Addams family's quirky little girl. The choice of the production team and screenwriters Al Gough and Miles Millar (former creators of Smallville) fell on Jenna Ortega.

Born in 2002, Jenna comes from the Coachella Valley and decided to become an actress when she was just a child, after seeing Man on Fire with Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning. She started acting at the age of 6, participating in several series including Jane The Virgin, Disney Channel Stuck in the Middle and the second season of You. In recent years, a series of dark and gory projects such as The Babysitter: Killer Queen, Studio 666 (the Foo Fighters film), X with Mia Goth and Kid Cudi and Scream 6 have made her Hollywood's new it-girl in horror. Perhaps this is why Burton chose her to play Wednesday, a role for which the young actress is very enthusiastic:

"To step into the shoes of somebody who's a bit more eccentric and frightening has been really exciting for me, and definitely a challenge - especially with such a beloved character, I really want to take care of her and do her justice. I think it's probably the most physical transformation I've ever done; I cut my hair, and it's black, and mannerism-wise, speaking cadence-wise, expression-wise, I'm trying to pull from a different toolbox this time around. I think it's a surprise to the audience, but myself as well."

And about the evolution of the character from the little girl we all remember from The Addams Family, she added:

"The thing is, there are several different paths that anyone could have taken for this character. We've never seen Wednesday Addams as a teenage girl, so some of her harsh mannerisms may come off as hilarious when she's younger, but as you get older, how much of that can you get away with? Or how do you keep that at the forefront of her personality without people growing to dislike her or find her annoying? So just trying to balance that . . . I've never felt so much pressure on a job, and I'm trying to keep my cool."

The filming of Wednesday in Romania has just finished and Netflix, which will stream the series by the end of the year, has released the first teaser in which we see Jenna in a Wednesday Addams version, with the characteristic braids and a black dress brightened up by a small pattern and a white collar and cuffs, a decidedly gothic look consistent with the character to which the public is accustomed. Alongside her is the iconic Thing.

The cast of the series includes Oscar-winning actress Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia Addams, Luis Guzmán as Gomez Addams, while Isaac Ordonez will be Pugsley, George Burcea Lurch and Victor Dorobantu Mano. Christina Ricci, who played Wednesday in The Addams Family 1 and 2 in 1991 and 1993, will also appear in the show with a new character that is still top secret.

The plot of the live-action l? The eight episodes of the series will follow the adventures of post-adolescent Wednesday, a student at the Nevermore Academy. Here, the girl "will attempt to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a monstrous killing spree that has terrorized the local town, and solve the supernatural mystery that embroiled her parents 25 years ago". While investigating this serial killer, she will also have to find her place in school and in the world, among flirtations, friends and new classmates.