Netflix's hit show Wednesday was produced by the now Amazon-owned Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Studios, meaning a rival streaming company played a role in The Addams Family spinoff's success.
Per Deadline, back in March 2022 Amazon finalized a deal to acquire MGM Studios for $8.45 billion. This puts the enormous Jeff Bezos-owned company in charge of MGM's entire production slate, including series produced for several Prime Video rivals like Netflix and Hulu. Notably, this means Amazon is partly responsible for their biggest competitor's most recent success story since Netflix's Wednesday was made by MGM Television. And in just a few weeks, Wednesday has become one of Netflix's most popular English-language shows. Other MGM-produced shows which are now connected to Amazon include The Handmaid's Tale on Hulu, Fargo on FX, and Vikings: Valhalla on Netflix.
Ever since the series debuted on Nov. 23, Wednesday has been breaking records for Netflix viewership. Currently, it stands as the streaming giant's second most-watched show behind Stranger Things Season 4, having surpassed other hits like Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story and Bridgerton. The show has been collectively watched by Netflix users for over one billion hours total, which translates to about 150 million households tuning in. While it's behind Stranger Things' 1.35 billion total hours viewed, Wednesday did defeat the popular horror show in views during its first week, amassing 341 million hours in its first seven days compared to the fourth season's 335 million hours.
The Life and Times of Wednesday Addams
The show stars Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams and follows her misadventures at Nevermore Academy, the macabre high school where her parents Gomez and Morticia (played by Luis Guzmán and Catherine Zeta-Jones) originally met. While the grim teenager struggles to bond with her monstrous classmates because of her deadpan misanthropy, she gets entangled in a murder mystery and plenty of supernatural shenanigans. Actress Christina Ricci, who previously played Wednesday in the 1990s Addams Family films, appears as a professor at Nevermore Academy. And half of the season was directed by famous gothic filmmaker Tim Burton.
Wednesday has not yet been confirmed for a second season, but showrunners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar have big plans for future storylines, and reports state that Netflix intends to announce Season 2 early next year. Wednesday is currently available to stream on Netflix.
Source: Deadline