Netflix’s ‘Wednesday’ Canceled? Show Will Not Return to Filming
The ongoing AFTRA-SAG strike has finally concluded; however, there are a few prominent Netflix productions that may be in jeopardy — including the iconic Netflix show, Wednesday.
SAG-AFTRA initially declared the commencement of a strike following unsuccessful contract negotiations with Hollywood studios on July 13, just a little over a month from the start of the negotiations.
Actors advocated for improved compensation and benefit plans, citing the impact of the rise of streaming services and the resulting complexities from the streaming model leading to a decline in wages and residuals.
Additionally, they were seeking safeguards against the potential effects of artificial intelligence on their profession.
Following a resounding 97.91% vote in favor of a strike authorization by SAG members on June 5, guild president Fran Drescher issued a statement expressing unity and determination: “Together we lock elbows and in unity, we build a new contract that honors our contributions in this remarkable industry, reflects the new digital and streaming business model, and addresses all our concerns for protections and benefits in the present! Bravo SAG-AFTRA, we are in it to win it.”
During the strike, SAG-AFTRA regulations barred members from promoting movies and TV shows through any means. This resulted in actors refraining from promoting their work on late-night comedy shows, TikTok, and Instagram for a period of 118 days.
The strike even caused some actors to be “banned” from dressing up as their respective or other prominent characters for Halloween.
NBC shared, “The end of the actors strike will almost certainly open up the floodgates on celebrity self-promotion. Timothée Chalamet can tout the December debut of “Wonka” when he hosts NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” this weekend; Oscar hopefuls Bradley Cooper (“Maestro”), Emma Stone (“Poor Things”), and Jeffrey Wright (“American Fiction”) can hit the talk show circuit.”
During the strike, we heard Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos speak out on his optimism for the finish line and also noted the two shows that would immediately take top focus for the streaming platform. This included both Wednesday and Stranger Things — the two top English-speaking shows on the platform.
Wednesday has secured the accolade of being the most-watched series in history, amassing a total of 1,718,800,000 viewing hours. This accomplishment is equivalent to 252,100,000 completed views. The previous record-holder for this distinction was Stranger Things season four. Both shows are financially lucrative for the company, and after the recent price hike announcement from Netflix, producing new content that is highly popular will be key to keeping their subscriber count high.
Although both shows were labeled as high priority by Netflix, Deadline has just released the first shows that have been slated to return to filming, and neither show is listed.
The publication stated, “For now, it looks like NBC/Warner Bros TV’s NIGHT COURT would be kicking off the post-strike production restart with a 11/15 target return to production.
Before providing the list, Deadline wrote, “Here is a running list of the TV series that will be leading the way in return to production. We will be updating it continuously as new production dates are set, including for series like Netflix’s Stranger Things, Max’s The Penguin, Welcome To Derry and Hacks and Paramount Network’s Yellowstone. All dates are tentative and subject to change.”
Interestingly, it seems that Deadline was expecting Stranger Things season 5 to be listed, but as it was not, the show is seemingly being anticipated by many to begin filming again. That being said, Stranger Things expected release is 2025, ahead of it, is Wednesday, the Tim Burton show which is not only set to return in 2024, but has been dubbed as the official replacement for Stranger Things, as 80’s coming-of-age drama is coming to an end.
Considering Wednesday is slated to debut first, many would anticipate that show to not only be expected by a publication like Deadline but also, to be listed — especially knowing that Netflix has been planning to hit the ground running with the show as soon as they can.
Lately, the show has been in murky waters due to surrounding cast drama, and now, the show’s ghostly presence is quite ominous.
Wednesday is a live-action fantasy comedy series centred on the theme of coming-of-age, and it has been created by Al Gough and Miles Millar. This show stands out for being Tim Burton’s inaugural foray into live-action television, representing not only his involvement but also marking his directorial debut in the realm of TV.
Jenna Ortega, recognized for her roles in series such as YOU, Scream, X, Insidious, Stuck in the Middle, Jane the Virgin, and others, assumes the lead role of Wednesday. Joining the cast are Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzmán, who portray Wednesday’s famous parents, Gomez and Morticia Addams. Notably, the original Wednesday Addams, Christina Ricci, is also part of the show, making the series trans-generational.
The series plot unravels as our central bruiting teenager, Wednesday Addams, faces expulsion from school. This consequence stems from an incident involving live piranhas in the pool, where Wednesday retaliated against boys who were bullying her brother, Pugsley, during a water polo match. In response, her parents, Gomez Addams and Morticia Addams, opt to enrol her in their alma mater, Nevermore Academy. This private school, located in the town of Jericho, Vermont, is renowned for its distinctive student body composed of monstrous outcasts.
Most recently, the show has been making headlines after details regarding Hocus Pocus‘ Thora Birch’s haste departure from the show came out.
A few days ago, we reported, “Wednesday has now been hit with a blow following the news that Thora Birch, who joined the show in a regular role, has had to quit without completing her scenes.”
Thora had reportedly returned to the States to attend to a personal matter, and did not return for filming.
Additionally, Percy Hynes White, who plays Xavier Thorpe was cut from the show following allegations that surfaced revealing he allegedly was over-serving women. While these allegations are not at all proven, Netflix decided to cut White from the show, even though he was clearly being set up to be the over-arching love connection with Wednesday.
It is not clear why Wednesday, season 2 is not taking priority on the filming schedule. Perhaps Beetlejuice 2 filming schedules are causing conflict for Ortega and Burton (Jenna will be playing Lydia Deetz’s daughter in the sequel).
Overall, the non-presence of Wednesday following the SAG-AFTRA strike conclusion could hint at the show finding a premature end.
