Sticking to its Gothic roots, Wednesday filmed in what has to be one of Europe's most Gothic countries.
Wednesday landed on Netflix, to much hype and fanfare. That hype really meant something, as the series has been a smash hit with critics and audiences alike. Not only has Jenna Ortega who plays Wednesday nailed her depiction of the titular role, but the supporting cast really brought everything they had to their roles. The location scouts also deserve a huge shout out, for finding filming locations that brought atmospheric cinematography, and suitably Gothic backdrops to the action. Exactly where was Wednesday filmed? Read on to find out the locations featured throughout the series.
If you've binged the series already, and have questions about the ending, we have the Wednesday ending explained for anything left unanswered. Exciting news for fans, with a series renewal announced - for fans asking when is Wednesday season 2 coming out, we take a look at the speculation.
Where is Wednesday filmed?
Although set in Vermont, external scenes for Wednesday were filmed in Bucharest, Romania. The areas of Jericho, Pilgrim World, the sheriff’s house, and the Nevermore quad, were built entirely for the show at Romania's Buftea Studios, which is also where internal shots were filmed.
According to House Beautiful, the show was shot on 70 sets across six sound stages and various locations around Bucharest. Series creator Tim Burton reportedly said "It was amazing to come here to Romania because it just weirdly fit into the Addams Family world. Trying to make Romania look like Vermont was an interesting challenge, but we felt like we found lots of new locations."
The Gates Mansion was filmed at a location called Conacul Olga Greceanu, an old house in the Bucharest countryside. Crews had to complete some work on the house for filming, including building a double garage, a new entrance and driveway with the iron gates, and altering the interior to give it an abandoned look. The Poe Cup in the series was filmed across two separate Romanian lakes, named Brănești and Sterbei.
Buftea Studios is Eastern Europe's largest film studios. When the fictional town of Jericho was constructed here, it was inspired by a typical New England town, and created with minimal CGI enhancements. Nearly every part of it was built from scratch, including the church steeple. Stills from the show depicting the specially constructed town, allow some of the detail to be seen.
Is the mansion in Wednesday real?
Yes, the mansion in Wednesday is called Cantacuzino Castle, and is located in the Carpathian Mountains.
Cantacuzino Castle provided the exterior and aerial shots for Nevermore Academy. Production designer Mark Scruton’s reportedly had a vision for the school as a New England gothic mansion, and was inspired by architecture found in Bucharest. He described the city as “this huge, eclectic pile of architecture with Renaissance and Ottoman influences coming up through Transylvania", in a press statement.
Special effects were used for the roof design, for it to to resemble the roof of the Addams family mansion. The varying styles of the castle were designed to reflect the school’s status as a safe space for all types outcasts.
Where is the school in Wednesday?
Although Cantacuzino Castle provided exterior shots for Nevermore school, internal shots were filmed at the historic house of Palatul Monteoru, downtown Bucharest.
Built in 1874, the historic house acted as the home room, and Principal Weems's office. Between 1949 and 2013 the building acted as headquarters of the Union of Writers of Romania. It was then returned to the heirs of the family who owned it prior to it being nationalised. In 2015, the owners announced it would be transformed into a multicultural centre, and it is now used for live music events, exhibitions, and fairs.
More Nevermore interior shots were filmed at Casa Niculescu-Dorobantu, another Bucharest historic landmark. A big staircase, stained glass window, and other handrails and columns from the neo-gothic style house featured in the show. Pictures of Jenna Ortega and Nevermore Principal Weems (played by Gwendoline Christie) were shared to Instagram - the pair appear to be having fun on the set of the show.
Wednesday: Reviews
Wednesday has been receiving very positive reviews since is began airing. It currently holds a 72% critic score, and 88% audience score on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.
Rick Marshall from Digital Trends offered the show 9 out of 10. He said "It doesn’t take long for Tim Burton and Wednesday's star, Jenna Ortega, to make the character's star power abundantly clear in Netflix’s dark, delightfully entertaining series."
Brian Lowry from CNN was equally impressed, saying "Seeking to bring something new a property like the Addams Family, which has been done so many times before, isn’t easy without altering its DNA. To its credit, Wednesday rises to the challenge and mostly manages to make it look like a snap."
An audience member wrote: If you're a fan of the Addams Family, this is definitely worth the watch. I grew up watching the TV show in reruns, as a kid, and loved the movies. This is a little bit of a departure for the Wednesday Character, but holds a bit more true to the movie personality that Christina Ricci developed. It also seems to be a good next evolution in her growing up. Personally enjoyed it, and binge watched the whole thing in one day."
Another added "Absolutely brilliant. No doubt that Jenna Ortega carries the show, providing a stunningly great performance as Wednesday, and there is a great supporting cast, who also do an excellent job. This is not family comedy, it's just a great, extremely dark series. Not only is it one of the best shows I've seen this year but it's probably one of the best things that Tim Burton has done in a very long time. A must see."
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