The fantasy mystery series ‘Wednesday’ is created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar for Netflix. It navigates the life of Wednesday Addams as she enters the Nevermore Academy which is shrouded with murder, mystery, and magic. The lead character, Wednesday, learns to control her psychic abilities while various truths unfold around her in the town. She creates a ruckus in her public school and is then sent to the Nevermore Academy, which is a boarding school for castaways.
The series features Jenna Ortega in the titular role, with Catherine Zeta-Jones, Luis Guzmán, Isaac Ordonez, and Gwendoline Christie in supporting roles. ‘Wednesday’ deals with a lot of themes like bullying, feeling like an outcast, and, most of all, supernatural fantasy and magical occurrences. If you want to watch more similar series that focus on magic and the thrill of adjusting to high school, then you need to watch the following series right now!
10. Never Have I Ever (2020-2023)
Following the story of Devi, an Indian American teen in high school, the comedy-drama series offers insight into her life and her struggles to adjust. She works on making a place for herself while dealing with the sudden loss of her father. The series stars Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Darren Barnet, Jaren Lewison, Richa Moorjani, and Poorna Jagannathan as central characters. ‘Wednesday’ shares a few similarities with this series as both series have a resilient female lead who feels out of place and is always on the lookout for an opportunity to prove their worth.
9. One of Us Is Lying (2021-)
Based on a novel by Karen M. McManus, ‘One of Us Is Lying’ is a mystery thriller series that revolves around a group of five teenagers who go to detention and only four are left alive by the end of it. The mystery unravels as the authorities figure out who is lying and how the fifth person gets killed.
Mark McKenna, Annalisa Cochrane, Chibuikem Uche, Marianly Tejada, and Cooper van Grootel are in lead roles along with a few other supporting characters. Both ‘Wednesday’ and ‘One of Us Is Lying’ base their plot on teenagers and their struggles in school. Furthermore, the series share the mystery and the thrill of murder arc in their plots.
8. The Vampire Diaries (2009-2017)
This mystical drama explores the lives of two brothers, Damon and Stefan Salvatore, who have been vampires for centuries. The brothers meet a young girl Elena who gets entangled in this affair of vampires and magic. Stefan makes an effort to uphold morality, in part as restitution for past transgressions, in contrast to Damon, who is sardonic, beautiful, and charming with a tendency for evil.
‘The Vampire Diaries’ is based on a series of books written by L. J. Smith. The show stars talented actors like Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder, Nina Dobrev, Kat Graham, and Candice King. Similar to the previous entries, this show also focuses on teenagers as they go through life and choose their battles. Both ‘Wednesday’ and ‘The Vampire Diaries’ show details about the towns the characters live in as a lot of mysteries surround their residence as well.
7. Riverdale (2017-2023)
A group of high school kids is followed throughout early adulthood in ‘Riverdale.’ A high school student’s murder in the first season makes it clear that Riverdale isn’t as harmless as it first appears. The main characters in this deviously eerie narrative must contend with demons, witches, monsters, and the persistent phantom of adolescent love.
This drama series shot many actors to fame with their portrayal of a teenager in the drama series. Starring Lili Reinhart, Cole Sprouse, Camila Mendes, KJ Apa, Madelaine Petsch, and Vanessa Morgan, ‘Riverdale’ is inspired by a comic series just like ‘Wednesday’ which was first a comic strip. Both shows also share the existence of witches and supernatural creatures.
6. The Umbrella Academy (2019-)
The siblings of ‘The Umbrella Academy’ are always tasked with saving the world and they always do it in style. The siblings don’t share a father or a mother, but they share a set of powerful abilities that set them apart from the rest of the world. Based on the comic books authored by Gerard Way, ‘The Umbrella Academy’ brings together a traumatized group of adults to deal with the effects of their distinctive childhood, managing to deal with its fundamental themes of identity and family connections with depth and grace. Such elements also find portrayal in ‘Wednesday’ where the protagonist has to deal with her family’s past and the mystery around the same.
5. Yellowjackets (2021-)
A brazen thriller called ‘Yellowjackets‘ is a tale of human survival in even the toughest of situations. After a plane crash, a group of teenagers has to ensure their survival to get out alive from the wilderness. The teenagers navigate teamwork and competitiveness to see who emerges triumphant. It has an incredible ensemble of A-list actresses, and courageously displays the cruelty of adolescent females. Furthermore, the drama doesn’t shy away from depicting flawed and challenging female characters, just like the fierce protagonist in ‘Wednesday’. ‘Yellowjackets’ features an ensemble of great actors, including Sophie Nélisse, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Sophie Thatcher, Sammi Hanratty, Liv Hewson, and Courtney Eaton.
4. His Dark Materials (2019-2022)
The show centers on Lyra, a young orphan who lives with the students of Jordan College in Oxford. Lyra discovers a sequence of kidnappings and a connection to a mysterious material called Dust while looking for a lost friend. This information sends her on an epic odyssey that ultimately takes her to other planets. The series is adapted from a trilogy of books under the same name by Philip Pullman. The show features Dafne Keen, Ruth Wilson, James McAvoy, Amir Wilson, and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Both shows ‘His Dark Materials’ and ‘Wednesday’ have supernatural subplots and magical elements that are out of this world.
3. The Sandman (2022-)
The cosmic creature known as the Sandman, or Dream, who governs all dreams is abducted and imprisoned for more than a century. To undo the havoc his absence has brought about, he must travel across several worlds and timeframes. Based on comics written by the genius of cosmic stories Neil Gaiman, the series makes great use of metaphorical elements and presents a far-fetched reality. Tom Sturridge plays the series’ eponymous character, with Boyd Holbrook, Vivienne Acheampong, and Patton Oswalt rounding out the cast as his supporting actors. Like almost all other entries, ‘The Sandman’ also capitalizes on the otherworldly aspects that govern the plot of the series.
2. Locke and Key (2020-2022)
After the death of their father, a set of three siblings enter a house to discover the magic that awaits them. They find keys and doors that lead to other worlds. The fantasy horror series explores the bond of siblings as they deal with grief and the wonders of the keys. The show is made by Carlton Cuse, Meredith Averill, and Aron Eli Coleite, with its basis in the comic books written by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodríguez. It features Darby Stanchfield, Connor Jessup, Emilia Jones, Jackson Robert Scott, Laysla De Oliveira, Petrice Jones, and Griffin Gluck. The series shares its genre with ‘Wednesday’ along with the otherworldly elements and their exploration of death as a theme.
1. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018-2020)
‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’ centers upon the titular character, who is a persistently inquisitive and devoted troublemaker who doesn’t hesitate to defend her friends. The teenager resides in the town of Greendale with her two aunts. Sabrina soon starts her mythical education and deals with both magical and human bullies, ultimately defeating zombies, the queen of hell, and demons. Like ‘Riverdale,’ this show is also adapted from the Archie Comic Book series.
The show addresses modern topics like gender identity, feminism, and mental health, coupled with a lot of old mythology and irreverent religious elements. This is very similar to ‘Wednesday’ as the shows share a strong female lead, battling demons both inner and in the outside world, along with dealing with bullies in the magical academy.
Read More: Wednesday’s Jenna Ortega: Everything We Know