Wednesday Addams is breaking away from the rest of her famous family.
The macabre daughter of Gomez and Morticia is getting her own series on Netflix, helmed by the king of cinematic spooks, Tim Burton.
The spin-off series will mark the Edward Scissorhands filmmaker's directorial TV debut, the streaming service announced as it revealed plans for the live-action "coming-of-age" show.
Tim Burton is bringing Wednesday Addams to Netflix in a live-action coming-of-age series!
— Netflix (@netflix) February 17, 2021
Burton will also make his TV directorial debut on the sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery that follows Wednesday as a student at Nevermore Academy pic.twitter.com/8ei3wIUrxq
The series will be a "sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery that follows Wednesday as a student at Nevermore Academy", Netflix said.
Comprising eight episodes, the spin-off will be simply called Wednesday, with casting details and a launch date yet to be confirmed.
The show will focus on the teen's battle to master her emerging psychic ability as she tries to solve a murder spree, as well as a "supernatural" mystery from her parents' past, all while trying to fit into school life.
"When we first heard [producers] Al Gough and Miles Millar's pitch for Wednesday we were struck, like an arrow from a crossbow, right in our hearts," Teddy Biaselli, Netflix's director of original series, said.
“They nailed the tone, the spirit and the characters, but gave us a fresh way into this story.”
Burton is behind previous gothic horror hits including Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
The morbid Addams family, who first appeared in a series of comics created by Charles Addams, comprises a number of characters with supernatural abilities, such as the elegant Morticia, lovestruck Gomez, son Pugsley and Uncle Fester.
The clan first appeared on screen in a 1960s live-action series, starring Carolyn Jones, John Astin and Jackie Coogan, with Lisa Loring portraying Wednesday. An animated TV series followed in 1973 and 1992, with a big-screen take hitting cinemas in 1991.
The Addams Family featured Raul Julia and Anjelica Huston, with Christina Ricci as Wednesday. The characters most recently featured in a 2019 computer-animated film, starring the voices of Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron and Bette Midler.
