It’s no surprise that Tim Burton’s *Wednesday* takes eerie cues from *The Addams Family* — including Charles Addams’ *New Yorker* cartoons, the ’60s television series, and the ’90s films — but it’s delightful to encounter particular tributes to the 1991 *The Addams Family* in the second season.

A comedic classic of the early ’90s, Barry Sonnenfeld’s *The Addams Family* and its brilliant follow-up *The Addams Family Values* were often viewed in our household. I’ve watched the movie on VHS so many times that I can spot a subtle reference easily.

*Wednesday* Season 2 contains numerous nods to the film through its production design, brief scenes, and one wonderfully unpredictable casting decision. Here are my observations:

**Wednesday’s octopus bed**

Jenna Ortega’s Wednesday has the identical bed as Christina Ricci’s Wednesday, and I adore it. Credit: Jonathan Hession / Netflix

In *The Addams Family*, Wednesday (Christina Ricci, who portrays science teacher Marilyn Thornhill in *Wednesday*) is captivated by the Bermuda Triangle. She studies it. Bringing this nautical fascination into her bedroom aesthetic, Wednesday’s bed features a massive octopus. In *Wednesday* Season 2, episode 1, just before Jenna Ortega’s character departs for Nevermore Academy from the Addams mansion, her bed also displays an octopus. Reader, I need this bed.

**Pugsley’s traffic antics**

Pugsley’s collection of stop signs in “The Addams Family.” Credit: Barry Sonnenfeld Orion/Paramount USA Scene Still Comedy La famille Addams

In *Wednesday* Season 2, episode 1, Pugsley (Isaac Ordonez) is pressured by his sister Wednesday to utilize his electricity powers to zap a stop sign on their trip to Nevermore Academy, resulting in a significant traffic jam. This may reference the stop signs that Pugsley (Jimmy Workman) took in *The Addams Family*, which triggered a traffic incident we hear but don’t see.

**Thing lends a hand — as a golf tee**

Thing: Always useful. Credit: Courtesy of Netflix

If you don’t recall the legendary Raul Julia as Gomez Addams, consider this your assignment. In *The Addams Family*, whenever Julia’s Gomez seeks some leisure, he hits golf balls from his roof into his neighbor’s windows. Thing, always obliging, serves as a tee during these moments. In *Wednesday* Season 2, we witness Thing recreating this scene in episode 2, amidst a montage of Thing being treated like a servant by Morticia and Gomez (Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzmán). In this instance, Gomez hits Thing rather than the golf ball, launching him into a tree.

**Morticia and Gomez’s dance**

Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzmán in “Wednesday.” Credit: Jonathan Hession / Netflix

The ever-passionate leaders of the Addams Family relish a tango, with Morticia (the legendary Anjelica Huston) and Gomez literally igniting the floor in *The Addams Family Values*. In *Wednesday* Season 2, episode 3, Zeta-Jones and Guzmán showcase their own dance, featuring choreography that pays tribute to their predecessors.

**The camp episode**

Camp Outcast > Camp Chippewa. Credit: Helen Sloan / Netflix

*Wednesday* Season 2, episode 3, transports the Nevermore students to Camp Jericho, also referred to as Camp Outcast, appearing to nod to *The Addams Family Values*. In the sequel film, Wednesday and Pugsley are dispatched to Camp Chippewa, a true ordeal for both (and not in a good way). However, in *Wednesday*, the camp is tailored for Outcasts, featuring dagger throwing, a pitch-black watchtower, and coffin-shaped s’mores.

**Honorable mention: It’s Christopher Lloyd!**

An icon: Christopher Lloyd’s Fester Addams. Credit: Snap / Shutterstock

Having *Addams* legend and Movie Wednesday Christina Ricci join the cast for *Wednesday* was a joy for *The Addams Family* enthusiasts. In Season 2, we receive another *Addams* casting delight: the remarkable Christopher Lloyd, whose theatrical portrayal as Uncle Fester in the ’90s films is legendary. Lloyd portrays a *Futurama*-style floating head in a jar, Nevermore science professor Dr. Orloff, who meets Wednesday in episode 2. Poor Orloff becomes the constant victim of student pranks at Nevermore — have some dignity!

Did you catch any additional references to the *Addams Family* films? Or perhaps the ’60s sitcom? Share your thoughts in the comments.

*Wednesday* Season 2, Part 1 is now available for streaming on Netflix. Part 2 arrives on