'Wednesday' Season 2: The Horror Hit That Beat 'Stranger Things' on Netflix

In the past, the horror genre found its little nook in a mainstream-adjacent realm, where it explodes annually during the spooky season, but then shifts back to its devoted fanbase for the rest of the year. However, in recent years, the genre has been breaking those boundaries, especially since some of the juggernaut shows on Netflix currently are, in fact, horrors. In Netflix's July to December Engagement Report, out of the top ten most-watched TV shows, horror series hold several of the spots, including various seasons of Stranger Things and Monster: The Ed Gein Story. But what came out on top with 964 million hours viewed was Wednesday Season 2, a horror series that also delves into coming-of-age, mystery, and teen drama.

Of the shows mentioned, you may be surprised to hear that Stranger Things and Wednesday are categorized as horror shows, but that's because they make the genre so accessible. Wednesday, in particular, re-energizes a classic IP and goes beyond the typical Tim Burton fare we are used to seeing in The Addams Family. It not only modernizes a horror IP, but mixes it with drama, romance, friendship, and humor that we are more familiar with in other genres, appealing to an audience large enough to earn it the number one spot in the second half of 2025.

Netflix's 'Wednesday' Goes Beyond Its Iconic Horror Roots in the Addams Family

Much of the show's success needs to be attributed to its predecessor, The Addams Family, as it takes the daughter of this memorable, macabre family and follows her through her adolescent years in a mystical high school for otherworldly entities. While there is a certain reliance on the beloved IP, what Wednesday does with the story is what makes it so enticing and satisfying to watch. It goes beyond the twisted comedy, morbid visuals, and scathing commentary we expect from a Burton endeavor, and delivers the light-hearted beats of a typical high school drama, if that school had secret societies and rampant Hydes.

In the show, Jenna Ortega's Wednesday reaches her teenage years and doesn't quite fit into the average American high school, so after a piranha incident, she is transferred to Nevermore Academy. In a world divided between "normies" and "outcasts," where the latter exhibit superpowered abilities, Nevermore Academy is a haven for werewolves, sirens, gorgons, and so on, but it holds its own secrets. When she arrives at the school, she is immediately thrown into a murder mystery. Armed with her insatiable thirst for knowledge and dry wit, and joined by her trusty companion, Thing, and her all-too-colorful roommate, Enid (Emma Myers), she investigates leads that uncover far more sinister conspiracies in Season 2.

Her family members also appear on the show, including her troublemaker brother, Pugsley (Isaac Ordonez), her eccentric father, Gomez (Luis Guzmán), and her elegant mother, Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones). They play a bigger role in the second season, which likely contributed to its success, since these are characters with a long history of being adored for their gothic but lovable family. Threads of this run through Wednesday, especially as the show dissects the teenager's palpable relationship with her mother. Their dynamic leads to some of the most iconic scenes in the show, including a fierce fencing bout between them. As such, Wednesday welcomes back old fans by fleshing out characters we know and love, but wins new ones over through mashing up genres.

'Wednesday' Makes Horror Accessible to Larger Audiences

Horror has a reputation for being crude and gory, so it may come as a surprise that Wednesday is technically a horror show. Some horror elements are more obvious than others, including some of the unexpectedly grisly scenes of death or the terrifying figure of a fully transformed Hyde, with the dread in the atmosphere or the lurking supernatural danger being more subtle. But this is packaged with the clue-hunting fun of a mystery and the quirky characters we meet along the journey, including newer ones like an enigmatic piano aficionado or a viciously fabulous grandmother. On top of this, the friendship that blossoms between Wednesday and Enid, the relatable family drama, and how it embraces individuality give the show a timelessness that appeals to a wider audience — one that wouldn't typically seek out horror.

It's a surprise that a horror series managed to claw into the most-watched spot for half the year on Netflix, but it's definitely no surprise that it was Wednesday. Beneath the sordid sheen is a little bit for everyone, from creepy monsters to benign family tensions to messy love triangles. Even after a three-year hiatus, Wednesday returned swinging with its second season and is preparing for its third, as relentless as its scathing, color-allergic investigator.