While some television shows or films are the product of a singular visual mind, Wednesday is not going to be one of them. The show following The Addams Family takes place in a highly detailed environment a creator says is the product of numerous people.
Miles Millar, who developed the piece alongside Alfred Gough before taking it to Tim Burton to direct, reveals the information in a new article published by Entertainment Weekly. In the show, the academy in which Wednesday attends saw multiple people each put their own touches on things in the set’s background.
“There are lots of Easter eggs and lots of detail,” Millar explains. “At one point, we had 30 different artists making different statues and gargoyles and elements. So, in the quad, we have eight beautifully rendered gargoyles. And if you look at arches, they’re actually designed as almost open mouth monsters in terms of jaws. So much detail and so much thought has gone into every aspect of every set in terms of the color choices, the Easter eggs and also the sense of aging as well, really making sure that everything felt that it had been there for centuries. Nothing should feel new. Nothing should feel like it’s store bought. It all has to have a patina of age.”
Later in the article Millar reveals Burton designed the twisted tree featured in the trailers. He also says the contrast between Wednesday, played by Jenna Ortega, and her roommate, Enid, is fun. Unlike most people today, the fictional character previously played by Christina Ricci in another continuity will not be burdened by our modern pains in this production.
“She has a gramophone, and she loves to listen to old vinyl. She’s very old school. She does not have a computer. She does not have a cell phone. She doesn’t believe in social media. So, she’s very much someone who is not in her time, whereas Enid is totally with it and completely of the moment.”
Wednesday will feature the other members of the family when it airs. Someone has also been cast to play Uncle Fester, though those behind the piece have refused to say who will be the character and are leaving this as a surprise for fans when it does air. As well, the piece is intending to be close to other adaptations of the characters and will not lose the franchise’s macabre/madcap tone previously seen in two movies decades ago.