Whatever Happened To The Adult Wednesday Addams YouTube Series?
On August 17, Netflix premiered a new trailer for the upcoming "Wednesday Addams," a TV series produced and directed by Tim Burton. As its title suggests, "Wednesday Addams" is the latest in the multimedia "Addams Family" franchise, with a focus on goth teenager Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) as its protagonist.
Wednesday Addams has gone through numerous incarnations, originating in the "Addams Family" comic strip from cartoonist Charles Addams like the rest of the Addams Family. Lisa Loring was the first actor to portray the character, in the 1960s sitcom that marked the first of many adaptations of its core cast of characters. Perhaps the most notable actor to appear on-screen as Wednesday is Christina Ricci, who played the character in the 1991 "The Addams Family" film in one of her very first acting roles.
Some viewers might associate the character more closely with writer and performer Melissa Hunter, whose recent writing credits include series like "Santa Clarita Diet" and "Close Enough." Prior to her work on those two shows, Hunter created and starred in a YouTube web series titled "Adult Wednesday Addams," consisting of short scenes of the iconic "Addams Family" character as an adult.
At the moment, however, "Adult Wednesday Addams" is no longer available on Hunter's YouTube channel where it originated. Here's what has become of the web-exclusive series.
Melissa Hunter received a cease and desist letter from the Addams Family copyright holders
"Adult Wednesday Addams" creator Melissa Hunter revealed just what happened to her YouTube series in an interview with Buzzfeed. As it turns out, Hunter was compelled to remove the series from her channel after receiving a cease and desist letter from the Tee & Charles Addams Foundation, which owns the "Addams Family" copyright.
"I have the right to counter-claim the videos and get them back up, and YouTube would probably do that, but the problem is that escalates the issue and could lead to a lawsuit," Hunter said. "I'm such a fan, and that's why I made this series in the first place because I think Wednesday Addams is such a fun, vibrant hero, especially for women. But as of now, the series is unfortunately done."
Hunter also happened to mention that, whereas her web series became the target of a copyright claim, an adult film parody based on her work remains online, as do unofficially-uploaded videos of "Adult Wednesday Addams" episodes.
In an interview with Mike Elder on his YouTube series Box Angeles, Hunter described Wednesday Addams as a part of her childhood identity, and "Adult Wednesday Addams" as a project she spearheaded in order to put something out that was entirely hers. Fortunately for anyone interested still interested in Hunter's passion project, though it may be over, past episodes, hosted on Vimeo, are still viewable on Hunter's personal website.
Hunter tried to keep Adult Wednesday Addams alive in a big way
For Melissa Hunter and all involved, as well as fans around the world, the abrupt end of "Adult Wednesday Addams" was devastating. To make matters worse, even when she tried to keep it alive in the face of imminent cancelation, the parties involved simply couldn't make a deal happen. In a Twitter post from February of 2021, Hunter wrote, "After my show got pulled, I tried to get the rights to make it a TV series. I was told it was impossible. I'm still sad the gatekeepers never gave me a shot."
It's worth pointing out that when she made this tweet, it was in response to a post from the Netflix Twitter account announcing "Wednesday." Devoid of context, one could assume Hunter's comments to be out of anger or spite, but that's not the case at all. "I have nothing against the creators or anyone involved. Wednesday is an icon whose story deserves to haunt us all," she added, making it clear that she's at least happy that Wednesday will maintain a place of pop culture prominence.
There's certainly reason to be excited about the Netflix premiere of "Wednesday," but if you're hoping for new episodes of Melissa Hunter's "Adult Wednesday Addams," you seem to be out of luck.