After taking over timelines and TikTok with her now-iconic dance scene, Jenna Ortega’s Wednesday Addams is back and she’s just as deliciously deadpan as we remember. When “Wednesday” premiered in 2022, the goth-meets-Gen Z twist on the Addams Family became an instant cultural moment, turning Ortega into a full-on phenomenon and reviving the beloved franchise with razor-sharp wit, moody visuals, and a fresh wave of unapologetic weirdness.

Now in its second season, “Wednesday” returns to Nevermore Academy with even more creepy, kooky thrills, this time in a two-part rollout, with Part 1 currently streaming on Netflix. 

Ortega once again dons the signature braids and brooding glare, stepping back into the chaos as Wednesday navigates tangled friendships, family secrets, and a fresh round of supernatural suspense.

While Wednesday is still the emotionally guarded goth girl we know and love, Ortega reveals there’s a shift this time around, one that invites new depth and vulnerability.

“What was so wonderful about the first season’s emotional arc for Wednesday is her getting comfortable enough with someone. She allows them to finally give her a hug and that’s like a huge ordeal,” Ortega tells BET.com. 

“In the second season, there’s a different sense of community for her. She has a community at school. She's a bit closer to her mom, not only in proximity but emotionally. She has to be a lot more dependent on these people around her because of the loss of her psychic ability. That’s very hard for someone as independent and as powerful as Wednesday. It was nice to be able to play the discomfort and rely on somebody else other than oneself, which is quite funny.”

For Catherine Zeta-Jones, who returns as Morticia Addams, this season cracks open new emotional territory, especially as mother and daughter are forced into closer quarters. 

“That was one of the joys of having a Zoom with our creators and writers. They gave me an idea of a storyline that was opening this Pandora's box for Morticia,” she says. 

“We’ve really only seen her as a one-dimensional character. We have a preconception of how she should look, which is perfect. [Colleen Atwood], our costume designer, and I had many conversations about not deviating from something that is so iconic. You really never see the depths of her vulnerabilities, insecurities, and the matriarchal strength while toying with this tempest of a child whom she loves so much. She can see the train wreck waiting to happen, but these are all those things the parents go through on a regular basis. It was wonderful to have the screen time to be able to get that onion and those layers come off. It was a real treat for me.”

The deeper emotional beats and metaphors are no accident. The show has always played with real-world themes beneath its gothic exterior, like last season’s nod to colonizers, and this year, it goes even further. 

Joy Sunday, who plays Bianca, says the show gave her the space to layer in intentional nuance.

“For all of us, we're kind of getting an opportunity to kind of dive into our characters. I was given such a wonderful opportunity to dive into Bianca’s past and imbue all of her actions with nuance, understanding, and empathy with why she does what she does. We’re finally going to realize or understand so much more about her. I really wanted to make sure that those blanks were filled. It’s exciting what I've gotten to do and especially who I've gotten to work across from with both Steve [Buscemi] and Catherine [Zeta-Jones] so deeply, who are wonderful mirrors for Bianca to be reflected against. I'm excited for fans to learn more about her.”

She continues, “I think Bianca, obviously, uses her voice to command. I think in the past couple of years, we've seen a really troubling amount of repression for everyone, but especially artists unable to speak on issues that really mean a lot to them. It’s unfortunate to think about how these big corporations and companies are disallowing us from using our voices for things that we're so passionate about. It’s also been really encouraging to see how much that repression has also galvanized folks and really mobilized folks to change that fact. I’d say Bianca's journey probably reflects that in the real world.”

Softness and vulnerability also shape the journeys of other fan favorites. 

Emma Myers, who plays the loyal and bubbly Enid Sinclair, sees her character’s openness as a form of strength: “I think vulnerability and softness shows strength and I think that's what Enid is this season. She's very strong and she's confident in herself. We all need to be soft now and then as we can’t always be strong and hardheaded. There's a nice aspect to Enid being soft and willing to show her emotions and wear her heart on her sleeve, which I think is desperately needed at Nevermore.”

As for this season’s most emotionally charged moments? 

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Myers and Sunday both point to pivotal turning points without spoiling too much.

“I can’t tell you why, but I will say all of episode six was just emotionally challenging and daunting,” says Myers. “I can't say though because it'll give it away, but I think when people watch episode six they'll know exactly what I'm talking about.”

Sunday adds, “I'd say that there's a confrontation that happens later on that was tough to handle just because I really have to come to terms with something and it's kind of a release of the burden I've been carrying all along.”

The world of Nevermore continues to grow, and for new cast members like Steve Buscemi, who steps into the mysterious role of Principal Dort, the show's atmosphere made it clear he wasn’t in just any high school drama.

“Well, stepping into an Addams Family world that I've been a fan of since I was a kid was one thing that was intimidating, challenging, but very exciting,” says Buscemi. 

“Also, stepping into Tim Burton’s world and coming up with the look of this character that was based on Edgar Allan Poe. We both agreed that my character sort of fancied himself as the new Poe of Nevermore. Once that was figured out, then it was off to the races and now I can really have fun with this character.”

But don’t think the creepy vibes come at the expense of emotional depth. Even Fred Armisen’s Uncle Fester gets his moment.

“For Fester, it'll be a mess that he makes at the hotel because at first, it looks like he's just being chaotic for no reason. However, as the episode and even the season goes, you see that there's a reason behind it,” Armisen shares.

He adds, “I think in his first initial meetings with Wednesday, when they first see each other, there is a sort of anchoring of like, here we go. It's like a little launching pad of a moment in their story and then in the episode and season.”

And yes, about that viral dance scene that helped define Season 1? Ortega is staying coy about whether lightning will strike twice.

“People dance. I’ll say that,” she teases.

Zeta-Jones, laughing, chimes in: “Good answer.”

Stream Part 1 of “Wednesday” on Netflix now with Part 2 slated to be released on September 3rd.