In just the first week of release, Tim Burton’s “Wednesday” broke the one-week viewing record for a Netflix English-language series originally set by “Stranger Things 4” with 341 million views.

A main draw for the show relates back to its origins. “The Addams Family” comic debuted in 1939 and the following show premiered in 1964. However, for the new generation, the show most strongly resembles the 90s movies as even Christina Ricci, who played Wednesday in both films, has a supporting role.

Senior Ella Snyder has an idea of why the show has surpassed the previous record set by “Stranger Things 4”.

“I think it’s because it’s the Addams family and it reaches more generations. Our parents know what the Addams are and their parents know what the Addams family are. Even though “Stranger Things” is a big deal for the younger generation, it just doesn’t have as much history yet,” Snyder explained.

The show stars Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams while we follow her journey at Nevermore – a school for outcasts. Throughout the eight episode series, Wednesday slowly makes friends at Nevermore despite her stoic demeanor. As she struggles to work with her family, Wednesday inherits her mother’s physic abilities which begin to help her solve the supernatural murder mysteries that have haunted Nevermore for generations.

Senior Mira Haines watched the show and enjoyed Ortega’s new portrayal of the iconic character. 

“I thought Jenna Ortega did amazing. She really portrayed the darkness of the character well and made you root for her even when she messed up,” Haines said.

Snyder, however, still prefers Ricci’s performance. 

“I’m still partial to the old movies from the 1990s. I think those are just classics, but she’s been doing really well,” Snyder shared.

Not only has “Wednesday” gained popularity, but so has Ortega. In just over a week after “Wednesday” premiered, the 20-year-old rising star gained over 10 million new instagram followers. In this year alone she has already starred in the long-awaited fifth installment in the Scream franchise, the HBO Max original movie “The Fallout”, and the critically-acclaimed horror film “X”. “Wednesday” also gave Ortega her first Golden Globe nomination for best actress in a television series in a musical or comedy.

TikTok has helped “Wednesday” gain popularity as well. An edit of Jenna Ortega dancing in the show to Lady Gaga’s ‘Bloody Mary’ has made the song skyrocket on the charts. Over ten years after its release in 2011, the song had its biggest streaming day on Spotify with 429,000 streams. 

Although senior Kyla Williams hasn’t seen the show, she’s aware of the series from its popularity on TikTok. 

“The dance that she does is basically all I see on TikTok and people trying to copy it,” Williams said.

Despite the show’s immense success, there’s no promise for a second season yet. If the show does get a second season, it’s unexpected that it would come out before 2024.

However, the show still remains enjoyed by both old and new fans as it stands unique amongst other Netflix shows.

“My favorite part of the show was just how different it is from most other shows out there,” Haines explained. “It’s just a completely new TV show that’s never been done before.”