Jenna Ortega Says ‘Wednesday’ Season 2 Will Lean ‘More Into Horror’: Each Episode Feels ‘Like a Movie’
Jenna Ortega is teasing a more terrifying Season 2 of “Wednesday.”
The Netflix series, which landed Ortega her first Emmy nomination, will begin filming in April. Ortega told E! News at the 2023 Emmys on Monday, January 15, that the new scripts lean more into the horror elements of the Tim Burton series. Ortega is also serving as an executive producer for the second season.
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“I’ve received some scripts for the second season, and we’re definitely leaning into more horror,” Ortega said. “It’s really, really exciting because, all throughout the show, while Wednesday does need a little bit of an arc, she never really changes, and that’s the wonderful thing about her.
Ortega continued, “There’s really, really good one-liners, and I think everything’s bigger. It’s a lot more action-packed. Each episode will probably feel a little bit more like a movie, which is nice.”
Season 2 also marks the production move from Romania to Ireland. Ortega recently exited “Scream 7” due to a scheduling conflict with “Wednesday” Season 2 that will extend into the summer.
In addition to filming “Wednesday,” Ortega recently starred in the movie “Finestkind” and upcoming film “Miller’s Girl,” is leading A24 movie “Death of a Unicorn” alongside Paul Rudd, a yet-untitled A24 project from “Waves” helmer Trey Edward Shults and “The Idol” co-creator Abel Tesfaye, and is expected to appear in the fifth and final season of “You.” The former child star further deepens her iconic IP horror roots with Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice 2,” reuniting with her “Wednesday” producer/director.
Ortega previously told Variety’s Actors on Actors that “Wednesday” Season 2 will also emphasize more horror over any teen love triangle storylines.
“We’ve decided we want to lean into the horror aspect of the show a little bit more,” Ortega said at the time. “Because it is so lighthearted, and a show like this with vampires and werewolves and superpowers, you don’t want to take yourself too seriously.”
She added, “We’re ditching any romantic love interest for Wednesday, which is really great. We’re going to get bolder, more dark.”
“Wednesday” Season 1 saw Ortega’s title character crushing on classmates Tyler Galpin (Hunter Doohan) and Xavier Thorpe (Percy Hynes White).
Ortega said during Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast in March 2023 that she admittedly became “unprofessional” on set as she “just started changing lines” that she disagreed with, including any inclusion of romance.
“Everything that she does, everything that I had to play, did not make sense for her character at all. Her being in a love triangle made no sense,” Ortega said. “I grew very, very protective of her, but you can’t lead a story and have no emotional arc because then it’s boring and nobody likes you. And Wednesday is a teenager. When you’re little and you say morbid, offensive stuff, it’s funny and endearing and, ‘Aww, you don’t know any better.’ But then you become a teenager, it’s, ‘Now you’re being nasty and you know it.’ There’s less excuse.”
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