Wednesday

What’s it about?

A member of the notorious Addams family, Wednesday can’t seem to stick to one school. After getting expelled for setting piranhas onto a group of bullies she finds herself in a small town at Nevermore Academy – a school for the outcasts, the weird and the supernatural.

Wednesday soon realises this school isn’t what she thought it would be and becomes interested in the series of murders happening around the town.

The facts

• Created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. Tim Burton directs four of the eight episodes.
• English language
• Runtime: 45 minutes
• Based on the character Wednesday Addams from The Addams Family, originally created by Charles Addams.

Why did it get this rating?

This series was self-rated by Netflix. You can find out more about self-rating by streaming providers here.

Horror

The series is a dark and deadpan comedy. It is full of supernatural creatures such as werewolves, vampires and sirens. Wednesday herself is psychic and is accompanied by Thing, a disembodied hand who is a family friend. After a car crash, a man is shown with a visibly broken neck.

The creepy imagery could be quite scary for younger tamariki and the deadpan humour would likely go over their heads.

Violence

The first episode is one of the most violent, including bloody attacks, injuries, and death. A lot of these scenes are followed by humour or lighter moments which lessen the impact. Some of the strongest moments of violence in the show include:

• A boy in a pool screams as his leg is bitten off by piranhas and his blood fills the water.
• A man is attacked off-screen in the woods by a mysterious monster. His body parts are later seen strung up, as well as his headless body and decapitated head, however, his guts are covered up by bushes.
• Violence associated with bullying occurs, such as when a pet scorpion is run over by multiple bikes.
• A boy is suddenly attacked by a monster, which slashes open his stomach, causing blood to spray on his face.
• There is a reference to Russian roulette.

Offensive language

There is some offensive language in this episode but it is not strong. Thing pulls the finger to someone which is meant to be funny but could be offensive to some.

Cruelty

The cruelty of the bullies in this episode might be upsetting for tamariki who have experienced bullying or who are sensitive to mean words.

Self-harm reference

A girl mentions how she’d rather inflict self-harm than do things that she doesn’t like, however this is not said in an emotional way and it’s more to express that they don’t follow the rules..

Further information

• Why are ratings and content warnings important for me and my whānau?
• Stay informed and find a rating
• Horror films, scary sounds and pesky sleepovers