Update: And, just like that, Netflix has confirmed Wednesday season 2 is in the works.
In a press release, Netflix announced that the global phenomenon will return for a follow-up season, although it stopped short of confirming when filming would begin, which cast members would return, and other vital information.
To celebrate the occasion, Netflix also released a 55-second long video – complete with a voiceover from Wednesday star Jenna Ortega – that revealed Wednesday season 2 was on the way. Check it out below:
Original story follows.
Get ready to snap those fingers, everyone – Netflix appears ready to announce Wednesday season 2.
A cryptic teaser, posted on Netflix's social media channels on January 6, heavily implies that Wednesday – Netflix's revival of The Addams Family franchise – will be renewed for a second season.
The brief video shows Jenna Ortega's Wednesday Addams typing out "The End" on her trusty typewriter, which initially suggests one of the best Netflix shows is ending after a single season.
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However, after the briefest of pauses, Wednesday adds a question mark to the end of the short sentence. A quick camera angle change shows Wednesday start to smile before she moves to pull the page out of her typewriter to seemingly start over.
Check out the teaser video below:
??????? pic.twitter.com/aI8koqUGFVJanuary 6, 2023
Of course, this doesn't confirm that Wednesday season 2 is on the way. However, it's an intriguing marketing ploy on Netflix's part, which serves to hype fans up over the dark comedy series' seemingly inevitable renewal.
And we say "seemingly inevitable" because that's what Wednesday season 2 is: inevitable. The Tim Burton-directed TV show was only released on Netflix in November 2022, but it's already the second most-streamed Netflix English language series of all-time.
As of January 4, 2023, Wednesday's first season has been amassed a staggering 1.42 billion hours viewed, a figure that's enabled it to reign supreme on Netflix's Top 10 TV shows list for the last six weeks. Its dominance has been so great that Emily in Paris season 3 is the only series to come close to toppling it – the rom-com show's third outing only missing out on the number one spot (in the week running December 19 to 25) by 940,000 hours.
Right now, Stranger Things season 4 (English language) and Squid Game season 1 (foreign language) are the only shows to outperform Wednesday's first season in Netflix's entire history. Given Wednesday season 1's immense popularity, then, it's a foregone conclusion that a second season is on the way.
Even so, the fact that it's taken Netflix six weeks to decide to greenlight Wednesday season 2 is slightly odd. If the series has delighted fans and critics alike since launch, and broken all kinds of Netflix records, it wouldn't take those in charge of the world's best streaming service so long to renew it, right?
Well, not exactly. As we explained in our recent report on Netflix's cancellation of 1899, the streaming giant has its own in-house parameters to determine whether a show should receive another season or be cancelled.
It's a complicated process but, to sum it up: if a TV series is financially viable (its 'impact value' is greater than its production cost) and is watched from start to finish (in other words, viewers watch every minute of every episode in a show's most recent season), Netflix is more likely to greenlight another entry.
Wednesday's first season has blown that criteria out of the water, so there's no question that another installment is set to be announced. Still, it's puzzling that it's taken Netflix almost two months to reach that conclusion, even with the 2022 holiday season potentially impacting any decision over the show's future.
So, when can we expect Netflix to announce Wednesday season 2? Releasing a teaser in the first week of 2023 implies that a reveal is imminent, so it could be made official today (January 6). However, we think it would be a lot cooler if Wednesday's second season was announced on a Wednesday (see what we did there?). If Netflix goes along with us, we could be notified of Wednesday's second season in just five days (on Wednesday, January 11).
No matter when season 2 is revealed, stick with TechRadar to be the first to hear about any formal announcement.
For more Netflix-based content, read our best Netflix movies guide. Alternatively, find out everything you need to know about Stranger Things season 5 or Squid Game season 2.
As TechRadar's senior entertainment reporter, Tom covers all of the latest movies, TV shows, and streaming service news that you need to know about. You'll regularly find him writing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, and many other topics of interest.
An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Tom also writes reviews, analytical articles, opinion pieces, and interview-led features on the biggest franchises, actors, directors and other industry leaders. You may see his quotes pop up in the odd official Marvel Studios video, too, such as this Moon Knight TV spot.
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