Wednesday

Wednesday Addams is sent to Nevermore Academy, where being unusual does not automatically make her the most unusual person in the room. Wednesday combines a school mystery with the character's resistance to almost every invitation to participate normally.

Jenna Ortega's deadpan performance is the clear attraction. A small change of expression can do more than a longer joke, and her interactions with the other students provide a useful contrast to the deliberate severity. The Gothic design gives the series an immediately recognisable setting.

The plot uses familiar young-adult mystery machinery, so the character and tone are better reasons to try it than the promise of an unprecedented puzzle. If the Addams humour appeals, there is fun in watching Wednesday negotiate a social world she considers beneath her while still needing to understand it.