CNN —Although the main character’s name was inspired by the poetic line “Wednesday’s child is full of woe,” “Wednesday” is generally a delight, thanks almost entirely to Jenna Ortega.
Having outgrown her Disney Channel days, Ortega makes the Addams Family’s now-high-school-age daughter the coolest humorless goth sociopath you’ll ever meet, in a Netflix series that’s more kooky than spooky or ooky.
– a “five-fingered discount.” The writers extract a great deal of comedic mileage from that extremity, so give them a hand.
Seeking to bring something new a property like the Addams Family, which has been done so many times before, isn’t easy without altering its DNA.
To its credit, “Wednesday” rises to the challenge and mostly manages to make it look like a snap.