10 Awesome Performances Trapped In TERRIBLE TV Shows
2. Jenna Ortega - Wednesday
A possibly controversial opinion here, given that reviews for Tim Burton's new Addams Family series Wednesday were broadly positive and it scored record-breaking numbers for Netflix, but would the show really be anything at all without Jenna Ortega?
Rising star Ortega does a frankly heroic job portraying Wednesday Addams, at once paying homage to Christina Ricci's gloriously deadpan performance from the 1990s films but also bringing enough of her own singularly sardonic tenor to the table.
Ortega isn't merely the anchor holding the show in place - she is the show, basically, because without her it'd be so incredibly difficult to stomach the assault of crusty YA teen drama tropes and dull murder-mystery slop.
Though well-made, Wednesday scales back the gothic vibe of the source material in favour of a more generic fantasy style that can't help but feel rather cynical.
Were a lesser actor in the title role, it'd be even more of a chore to make it the end of the over-plotted eight-episode first season. Ortega clearly put in the work to do the character justice, but deserved much stronger material to work with.
One can only hope that season two might try a little harder - but given those ratings, the showrunners clearly won't feel like they need to.