*This article will include minor spoilers for the TV show Wednesday.

If you haven’t heard some reference about the new Wednesday show lately, you’re living under a rock. It’s everywhere, from interviews with the show’s star Jenna Ortega and her fellow castmates, trends on tiktok, or the top ten list on Netflix. If you’ve worn braids at any time in the last month, you’ve probably gotten some sort of comment about it. The phenomenon is real. 

Now, popularity is not necessarily an indicator of quality. Many times, it’s actually the opposite (*cough cough Riverdale*). But even though Wednesday is an annoyingly hot topic, it is actually an incredibly entertaining watch. 

The show sets a fast pace from the very beginning. In the span of maybe 5 minutes of runtime, Wednesday discovers her brother is being bullied through a psychic vision, unleashes piranhas on the culprits, gets expelled, and is nearly sent to jail. Without telling the audience directly via dialogue, the show manages to show us very quickly exactly what type of character she is, an admirable feat.

Fast moving action and intriguing characters continue to be strong points as the show progresses. Wednesday is sent to the Nevermore School after her expulsion from “normie” high school, and there meets Enid Sinclair, her peppy Werewolf roommate, and several other students. Wednesday is determined to escape until she witnesses the death of another student. As she frantically tells the town Sheriff of what she’s seen, the student whose  murder Wednesday saw with her own eyes returns. Intrigued by the seemingly never ending mysteries of Nevermore and the neighboring town, Jericho, Wednesday decides to stay and get to the bottom of things. 

Jenna Ortega is brilliant as Wednesday, from her unblinking gaze to her deadpan delivery of quick comebacks. Although Wednesday is a flawed character, with a tendency to think only of herself and her agenda, both Ortega and the show’s writers manage to craft a complex yet likable Wednesday. Although she is stubborn, violent, and oftentimes cold, this Wednesday possesses more humanity than the iteration who came before her. Even though moments of emotion are few and far between, they are present, and poignant. 

The other cast members are impeccable as well. Standouts include Luis Guzmán as Gomez Addams, Emma Meyers as Enid Sinclair, and Fred Armisen as Uncle Fester. 

Although the show could have easily become confused tonally, it tows a nice line between comedy, high school antics, and mystery. Wednesday is never too intense, or too silly, but rather a fitting medium. The creators faced a challenge with the new setting and age of Wednesday, but struck a balance between more mature storylines and humor. Perhaps a few of Enid’s pop culture references made me cringe, but hey, as Miley Cyrus said, no one’s perfect. Look, I just did it. I’ll see myself out.

All jokes and nitpicky criticism aside, this is, frankly, a good TV show. It’s engaging, humorous, and just fun. Even though spooky season is long gone, and we’re already on the freight train that is Christmas, it’s never too late to grab the remote, and start this wonderful show. I promise, you won’t regret it.