Netflix viewers praised a small but key casting choice in the new The Addams Family adaptation Wednesday.
Jenna Ortega (X; Jane the Virgin) plays Wednesday Addams in the series based on characters created by cartoonist Charles Addams.
The supporting cast includes Luiz Guzmán as Gomez and Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia. Christina Ricci, who played Wednesday in the 1990s movie adaptations, also appears in the series as one of Wednesday’s teachers.
On the other hand, there was one casting choice that Netflix kept under wraps until closer to the show’s release date this week: Who would play Uncle Fester?
It turns out that comedian and former Saturday Night Live star Fred Armisen will play Fester.
Viewers took to social media to express their delight at the casting, with some calling the decision to cast Armisen “genius”.
“I have many thoughts about Wednesday but one thing is for sure: casting Fred Armisen as Fester is a genius choice,” one person wrote.
Another commented, “FRED ARMISEN IS UNCLE FESTER HAHAHAHAHA I screamed”.
A third said:
“I have no complaints about the casting. I think Jenna Ortega did an incredible job as Wednesday. Morticia and Gomez are also well cast and (mostly) well portrayed. I think Fred Armisen’s portrayal of Uncle Fester is genius, I like him.”
Another viewer said, “Jenna Ortega is as gorgeous as Wednesday Addams. And Fred Armisen as Uncle Fester? Perfect.”
In the movie adaptation, Fester was played by Back to the Future star Christopher Lloyd.
Wednesday received mixed reviews, although many viewers online praised the series.
In a two-star review in The Independent, Nick Hilton criticized Wednesday’s first season, writing
“For a show about vampires and werewolves, there’s little to savor.”
The series is available to stream on Netflix.
