We finally know when Wednesday season 2 will drop on Netflix and, well, we'll be returning to Nevermore Academy this summer.
Boy has it been a long time coming. The last time spooky class was in session over on Netflix was almost two and a half years ago. Luckily, though, we've had lots of teases over the last few months that have made the wait less torturous.
In case you're not familiar with one of the best Netflix shows out right now: Wednesday is a loosely based on the iconic characters from Charles Addams' cartoon, The Addams Family. Wednesday is the daughter of the kooky clan, and in Netflix's version, she's also a crime enthusiast and writer who gets caught up in a murder mystery surrounding her new school.
Since the supernatural series wrapped in December 2024, we've been given a behind-the-scenes video that revealed some intriguing details about the "twisted" second chapter and a fun teaser trailer, while a plethora of new faces have been added to the cast. Jenna Ortega has opened up on the new chapter's biggest inspirations and commented on that controversial love triangle, too – and did we mention Lady Gaga has a starring role? Scroll down for everything we know about Wednesday season 2, including the show's release date(s), cast list, plot, and more.
Wednesday season 2 release date
Wednesday season 2 will be released on Netflix in two parts, the first of which will drop on August 6 while Part 2 lands on September 3.
Filming on season 2 wrapped in early December, which means the show will have been in post-production for eight months. Wednesday season 1 was filmed in Romania between September 2021 and March 2022 before it landed on the streamer in November 2022, so it seems like season 2 is following a similar schedule.
Is there a Wednesday season 2 trailer?
So far, Netflix has rolled out a teaser, a first look at the new batch of episodes, and a behind-the-scenes look at Wednesday season 2. Check out the former above.
In the one brief clip, we saw Wednesday pay a visit to Tyler, who was apprehended by the authorities after the former discovered he was the murderous Hyde monster in the season 1 finale. It appears that Tyler is being kept in Willow Hill Psychiatric Hospital, and the whole set-up can't help but give us big The Silence of the Lambs vibes. Might Wednesday be asking for Tyler's help to fight an even more fearsome foe?
As for the behind-the-scenes footage, we got some glimpses of the Nevermore Academy set, Wednesday making a speech of some kind, and the students holding a nighttime gathering. It also revealed what the premiere is titled: "Here We Woe Again." It is written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, and directed by Tim Burton.
Naturally, the trailer gives us our best insight yet into what the new season will be about and unsurprisingly, it looks to hint at Wednesday getting caught up in another death-filled whodunnit.
Wednesday season 2 cast
Almost everyone – who survived season 1 that is – will be coming back for a second season. Of course, this means Jenna Ortega will be reprising her role as Wednesday.
Emma Myers will be back as Wednesday's roommate, Enid Sinclair. Other returning Nevermore Academy classmates include Joy Sunday as siren Bianca Barclay, Georgie Farmer as gorgon Ajax Petropolus, Naomi J. Ogawa as vampire Yoko Tanaka, and Moosa Mostafa as bee-loving student Eugene Ottinger.
Hunter Doohan will also be back as Tyler Galpin, Wednesday's ex-boyfriend, who was revealed to be the monster in the final episodes. And if Tyler's back, then we bet his dad, Sheriff Donovan Galpin (Jamie McShane), will also be.
The Addams Family are returning too, with the show's creators promising we'll see more of them in the second season. This means more of Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia Addams, Luis Guzmán as Gomez Addams, Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley Addams, and Fred Armisen as Uncle Fester.
Season 2 welcomes some new faces. The new additions include Steve Buscemi as Nevermore principal Barry Dort, Billie Piper as Capri, Evie Templeton, Owen Painter, and Noah Taylor, as well as a sprinkle of a few guest stars such as Joanna Lumley as Grandmama, Thandiwe Newton as Dr. Fairburn, Christopher Lloyd, Frances O'Connor, Haley Joel Osment, Heather Matarazzo, and Joonas Suotamo.
Teasing their arrival, Tim Burton told Total Film during our Beetlejuice Beetlejuice issue: "For me, Jenna is what the show is. She's the reason there's a show. But the rest of the cast are all great. We have Steve Buscemi on this season, which is great, Thandiwe Newton and Billie Piper."
The latest casting announcement, though (according to Deadline), is Lady Gaga in a currently undisclosed role. While we don't know what part Gaga will play in the new season, we did see a fan edit of her song 'Bloody Mary' with Jenna Ortega dancing to it go viral already. So, it seems like fans approve of the casting choice.
However, likely season 1 casualties are Wednesday's therapist, Dr. Valerie Kinbott (Riki Lindhome), who was one of Hyde's victims, and Christina Ricci's Marilyn Thornhill. The latter was killed in the finale. Another cast member who isn't returning is Percy Hynes White as Wednesday's almost-love interest Xavier Thorpe. Per reports, he has been written out of the second season, which the actor later confirmed on Instagram (H/T Independent).
Ortega has weighed in on the possibility that Burton's favorite Winona Ryder could cameo in the show, too. Speaking to GamesRadar+, she said: "Man, that would be cool, but that girl is so busy. She really has no time, even trying to get to get together to do this, you know, it was [tricky]."
"So I don't know about that, but obviously, I would love to work with Winona again, and if it's not on Wednesday, then it's going to be on something else, I hope. We talk about it all the time, and that would be really sweet for me."
Wednesday season 2 plot
There are no confirmed plot details for season 2 yet, but the creators have teased we'll be picking up in the direct aftermath of the Wednesday season 1 finale. A quick refresher: after working out the murders were the handiwork of a Hyde monster, being controlled by Laurel Gates, Wednesday does her best to discover who is responsible.
She initially suspects her therapist Kinbott and her classmate Xavier, but it turns out she'd been chasing the wrong lead. In fact, it was botany teacher Thornhill who'd been controlling Wednesday's new boyfriend Tyler all along. However, Wednesday’s plans to trap them both backfires and Thornhill (or should we call her Laurel) takes her hostage as she plans to resurrect Joseph Crackstone.
Crackstone wakes and stabs Wednesday, who is only saved by her ancestor Goodie Addams bringing her back to life and telling her how to kill him. Her luck isn't over yet either as when Tyler attacks her, Enid finally wolves out and defends her. Wednesday finds Crackstone and kills him with the help of Xavier and Bianca.
The last few moments of the Wednesday season 1 finale see Tyler in some kind of custody, but seemingly about to break out as he transforms into the Hyde. Meanwhile, as Wednesday says goodbye to her classmates and prepares to head off for the year, she gets an unexpected message on the new mobile Xavier gave her to keep in touch with him over the break.
She starts receiving threatening messages and photos of herself from a mysterious stalker. It's not yet clear who this is, but they're sure to cause some more trouble in season 2.
"[The stalker proves] that threats remain out there… to both Wednesday and the school," co-creator Millar told Netflix’s Tudum. "Not all not loose ends have been tied up neatly as she thinks they have."
There might also be room for more of the Addams family in season 2, according to Millar. "We felt like we just touched the surface with those characters and the actors are so amazing in those roles," he told TVLine.
"Catherine is, I think, an iconic Morticia. The relationship between Wednesday and Morticia is also essential to the show, and the idea that Wednesday is trying to forge her own path outside the family is important."
Meanwhile, Ortega wants her character to lean even more into her darker side. "I kind of want her to be darker," she said to Entertainment Tonight. "I want her to get more in the nitty-gritty of things and not play things so safe, because there are a lot of lines about her saving the school and doing whatever, but for me, her main drive with the monster is of competitiveness. Kind of, 'man, how's this guy doing this?' I think I want it to continue down an antihero stream rather than a typical hero."
Elsewhere, Ortega has revealed that Edgar Allan Poe's The Masque of the Red Death was a big inspiration for the new episodes, though we're not entirely sure what that'll entail just yet.
"I think the feel that we're going for is a little bit more horror-inspired," Ortega told Vanity Fair, though it's worth noting that she cited the 1964 film adaptation of Poe's 1942 work, starring Vincent Price, as a specific starting point. "Not to say that suddenly we're the goriest show of all time. I mean, there [are] six-year-olds watching."
In Poe's short story, Prince Prospero tries to avoid being struck down by a dangerous plague known as the Red Death by hiding out in his abbey. To ease his isolation, Prospero throws a masquerade ball for his well-to-do peers but dies after a curious encounter with a stranger disguised as a Red Death victim – as do all of his swanky guests.
One thing that is certain is that we'll be getting another iconic dance sequence in season 1. This time around, however, it will be Gomez pulling shapes. When asked by Screen Rant if he's coming back, he said: "That's the plan. That's the plan. I'm going to dance; I'm going to have a sword fight."
Wednesday season 2 theories
While we might not have any concrete information on where Wednesday is heading next, there are plenty of fan theories around. A big question remains about Tyler's future in the show. We know he's coming back, but will be the irredeemable villain we met at the tail end of season 1, or could there be some changes to his characterization?
A major theory is that we haven't learned everything about his species yet, as he might not be the purely evil character we think he is. Hydes may take some more inspiration from Jekyll and Hyde than originally thought, and could actually be a completely different personality, according to one Reddit fan.
Based on Bianca's storyline in season 1, a huge plot point may have already been revealed too. When her mother comes to visit her, she tries to get her to return to the cult Morning Sun, which seems to be able to scam people via an app. We didn't hear from them again in the first season, but it seems like this could be readdressed when the show returns.
Another of the major unknowns heading into season 2 is who Wednesday's stalker is. Fans on Reddit have already been speculating about the most likely candidates. Xavier is a potential option, given he's the only one who knows about Wednesday's phone and has her number. However, it would be pretty brazen of him to be using this information straight away.
Others have suggested that it could be the Sheriff, given Wednesday is definitely not in his good books after working out Tyler was behind the killings. "He has his eye on her because he believes she could be as threatening, probably more, than Gomez," theorized one viewer. However, the vast majority think the show may use the opportunity to bring in a new character altogether through the twist. It seems like we'll have to wait and see...
One of the show's stars has also shared their opinion of some of the theories floating around. When asked if a Wednesday and Enid romance was possible, Enid star Emma Myers told Variety: "Anything is possible in the show. We haven’t really spoken about direction at all, so I don’t really know what the game plan is for anything. As far as love interests go for Wednesday, I feel like at least for a second season, she needs to take her season of singleness. She just had a whole fiasco with her men, she’s got to lay it off for a little bit. I would be deterred from dating anybody if I had gone through that."
Wednesday is one of Netflix's most streamed shows of all time. For what else to watch, check out our round-up of the best Netflix movies available now.
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