Wednesday has been one of the biggest hits in Netflix history, and although some are quick to point out similarities between the show and the Harry Potter and Percy Jackson franchises, co-creator Miles Millar has debunked theories the show is a homage to either of these. There are certainly plenty of reasons for audiences to not the similarities between the three IPs, with much of the action being set in a very special school, and each of them involving a high level of intrigue and mystery.
While speaking to The Hollywood Reporter recently, Millar kicked back the idea that Wednesday is in any way inspired by either the Harry Potter or Percy Jackson stories, but acknowledged that it was always expected that comparisons would be made. He said:
"It wasn't any homage to Percy Jackson or anything like that, or Harry Potter, but as soon you get to boarding school, the comparisons are there," Millar explained. "We wrestled with that initially, in terms of, if we're doing the teenage Wednesday Addams, is it funny if she's the fish out of water in a regular high school? But then we felt like every day should get back to the family, and we sort of wanted her out of the family."
While it is easy to see exactly how some fans could see a connection between the show and other popular franchises with teenage protagonists in an institutionalized setting, there is no doubt that Wednesday does what it needs to in order to set itself apart from its peers. The success of the show suggests that it has certainly managed to do that.
Wednesday’s School Setting Plays a Big Part In The Story
Millar went on to explain that while the setting of the boarding school is well used, in the case of Wednesday, it also provides a way of exploring the world of the Addams Family in an intriguing and deeper way than ever before. He said:
“And then the other thing about the boarding school offered was boarding in the world of the Addams Family. So you see, where did Gomez and Morticia go to school? What is that? How do these people exist in this real world? So, it excited us in terms of opened and expanded the world of the Addams Family, and that's something, I think, certainly, people have been intrigued by. Now we have the opportunity in future seasons to really expand that world, and what's great is that no one's really explored this part of the Addams Family, so it really is a fresh canvas, which we're excited to be able to draw on."
Wednesday has delivered some of the highest audience numbers ever seen on Netflix, both on its debut and with its subsequent accumulated watched hours volumes. Fans are now eagerly awaiting news of Wednesday’s second season, and it can only be a matter of time before the Tim Burton directed series is set up for another season of mystery and dark humor, as well as other spin-offs.