Netflix Confirms Uncle Fester Will Star In Its First Wednesday Spin-Off Series
Season 1 of the Tim Burton-produced original Addams Family adaptation "Wednesday" is a huge hit for Netflix. Less than a month after its premiere, notably, "Wednesday" became the second-most-watched English-language series in the streaming service's history. It's perhaps unsurprising, then, that even months ahead of filming for Season 2's start date, Netflix has already confirmed its first spin-off.
The forthcoming series, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed, will revolve around Uncle Fester. News of its existence broke on December 18, just one day after Bloomberg floated a rumor that the streaming service was considering an Uncle Fester spin-off. In Netflix's Addams Family universe, this classic character is portrayed by acclaimed comic Fred Armisen.
Armisen plays Uncle Fester for just one episode of "Wednesday," a cameo in Episode 7. While, on the one hand, this makes his character an unlikely candidate for his own TV show, this general lack of screen time leaves plenty of room for the upcoming spin-off to flesh out his character without having to remain beholden to much existing story.
Fred Armisen's take on Uncle Fester is heavily inspired by Jackie Coogan
Around the time "Wednesday" Season 1 first premiered on Netflix, the streaming service's Tudum blog published a lengthy interview with Armisen about his portrayal of Uncle Fester. As it turns out, Armisen was a fan of the Addams Family as a child. Since he was born the same year the original "Addams Family" TV series concluded, he's definitively too young to have caught it during its first run, but nevertheless seems to have become familiar with the franchise either through reruns or its subsequent incarnations — like the 1973 cartoon.
Rather than fully reshape the role of Uncle Fester to his own unique specifications, Armisen explained, he started by attempting to closely mimic Jackie Coogan's portrayal of the character in the original 1960s TV show and its animated follow-up. "Let me just keep it to what we're familiar with," he said. "And then maybe the way my face is will dictate my version of it." Citing his love for the franchise, the actor plainly stated, "It's everything that I love, spooky and funny at the same time."
Even though this appearance is limited to just Season 1, Episode 7, Armisen opted to shave his head rather than artificially mimic Uncle Fester's distinct appearance. His passion for the character must have struck just the right people now that Netflix has officially granted Armisen's Uncle Fester his very own spin-off series.