It may be named after hump day, but audiences have found Netflix’s hit series Wednesday anything but a drag, writes streaming columnist NICK OVERALL.
Back for its second season this month, Wednesday is about the iconic character from the Addams Family and it’s turned into a blockbuster.
Its first season in 2022 managed to amass more than 300 million viewing hours, hooking households around the world with its story of a strange young girl on a quest to solve a string of murders at her supernatural school.
What that sort of viewership means to Netflix is reflected in the insane pay rise for star Jenna Ortega.
When season one came out the 19-year-old was being paid $US30,000 ($A46,000) an episode. In season two she’ll reportedly now take home around $US250,000 ($A385,000) an episode or around $2 million for the season. Not a bad wage for a 22-year-old.
Ortega is ultimately what has brought the viewers in.
Her moody and macabre portrayal of Wednesday Addams became an internet sensation after she reinvented the character from the shows in the 1960s and the 1990s.
That means fans from previous generations were on board as well as a new one entirely. Couple that with director Tim Burton also lending his unearthly talents to the show and there’s a recipe for a hit indeed.
Before the black-and-white 1960s version of The Addams Family the characters first appeared in a cartoon by Charles Addams that was published in The New Yorker in 1938.
That means this strange gothic brood has been kicking around pop culture for almost a century and it seems they’re not slowing down anytime soon.
Maybe they really are immortal.
WHEN Conclave hit cinemas late last year it sparked a storm of intrigue around the world with its behind-the-scenes look at how a new pope is chosen.
But it wasn’t until six months later that the film truly cemented itself in the public consciousness.
Concalve took on a whole new aura following the death of Pope Francis, an event that shook the world and ignited huge interest in the film.
As the world waited for the announcement of who would be the new head of the Catholic Church, Concalve offered a glimpse into the highly secretive process that is kept firmly behind closed doors.
Starring Ralph Feinnes, the film offered a fictionalised account of this process.
The papal conclave is locked away to cast their votes, not allowed any form of media or communication with the outside world.
It is only when white smoke is released from the Sistine Chapel that those beyond it are told a new leader has been chosen.
Conclave admits to taking liberties with its plot, but the research is still very grounded in how the actual selection takes place and online purchases of the film exploded as the real-life cardinals gathered to make their vote this year.
Those who missed Conclave at the movies can now watch it with a subscription to Amazon Prime Video.
APPLE TV+ has launched a new blockbuster on its platform this month with an intriguing point of difference.
It’s called Chief of War and it stars Jason Momoa as a Hawaiian warrior in the 1700s caught in a brutal conflict where opposing factions compete for control of the islands.
This nine-episode series is made by Hawaiian creators with a dedication to accurately capturing the history and culture of the setting.
Much of the show is spoken in Olelo Hawai’i, a traditional language. It might take a bit of adjusting but certainly adds to the show’s atmosphere.
It’s a brutal and bloody affair, unflinching in its depiction of the tribal warfare unfolding.
That has resulted in some calling it Game of Thrones in Hawaii, the show that Jasom Momoa also starred in.
Momoa comes from a Hawaiian background and his passion for the project here is clear to see.
Only the first of episodes are out right now but so far the set up and execution have been impeccable.
Don’t expect a tropical getaway here. This is paradise lost.
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