Wednesday, the latest Tim Burton show has broken various records within the Netflix film industry. During its debut week, the series was viewed for 341.23M hours, putting it at the No. 1 spot in the “Netflix TV Global Top 10” chart for five consecutive weeks.

Now, Wednesday holds the record for the most viewed hours in a week for any English-language series on the Netflix platform. The series even surpasses Stranger Things 4, which reached 335M hours viewed in its first two weeks on the streaming service, and was very popular with HHS students and thousands of other adolescents worldwide. Netflix tracks ninety-three countries; Wednesday reached the Top 10 in 83 of them. According to Netflix, over 50M households have viewed the show. 

Wednesday is kind of a big deal in the world of modern television. But why? What makes the show so prevalent among individuals today? Well, it is not just any ordinary Addams Family iteration. Wednesday is comedic, dark, and mysterious. The protagonist, Wednesday, attends a new school, which doesn’t seem too appealing at first glance.

Nevertheless, she is unaware of the secrets that this academy holds. During her journey, she uncovers the secrets of her parents, her ancestors, a deadly monster lurking in the woods, and she even learns some unnerving information about herself along the way. Each episode introduces a different point in the plot that won’t seem to make sense at first, but viewers soon notice how everything is connected. Nonetheless, these are nothing more than superficial characteristics of a typical mystery. What makes the show so entertaining, though, are the casting choices. What fans love most on social media is what an exceptional job Jenna Ortega does of portraying Wednesday. Considering the recognizable tale of the Addams family and the even more exemplary character of Wednesday Addams, Ortega had a lot to live up to when it came to portraying her on screen. 

Another aspect of the series that older viewers will find particularly humorous is Christina Ricci’s role. In the 1990s, Ricci is known for portraying Wednesday as a child in the original movies. Now, Ricci plays nothing but a minor character as one of Wednesday’s professors in the Netflix series. The series also appeals to a younger audience as well, because although it still features the classic Addams family, directors of the show successfully put a modern twist on it. Since viewers are so used to seeing Ricci play Wednesday, a lot of pressure was placed on Ortega to execute the role in the same iconic way that Ricci did. What makes the show such a big hit is how  Ortega did just that. Jenna certainly lived up to Ricci but was still able to portray the character in her own special way. Ortega truly brought Wednesday to life by making her a likable character, despite her macabre and morbid disposition. Although she’s not too great of a detective and follows many false leads throughout the season, it’s still hard not to like such an amusing and witty character. 

The show has sparked various new trends, such as “The Wednesday Dance”, which has taken over the social media platform TikTok and mimics the bizarre dance moves that Wednesday does at her school formal. Although Wednesday may be gruesome and peculiar, it’s an engaging and hysterical series that all ages are sure to enjoy.