Wednesdayco-showrunner Miles Millar has revealed how Addams Family actor Christopher Lloyd came to be cast in the show. Lloyd played Uncle Fester in 1991The Addams Familymovie and its sequel,Addams Family Values, and joined thecast of Wednesday season 2in the role of Professor Orloff, Nevermore’s longest-running faculty member.
PerTV Insider, Millar discusses how Lloyd came to be cast inWednesdayseason 2. Lloyd reached out, saying he would like to be part of the show. Discussing how Lloyd’s Professor Orloff came to be created, he mentions how the character’s visual aesthetic - with a disembodied head in a jar - came about as a result of Millar and co-showrunner Alfred Gough’s desire to push themselves.
He went on to mention that Lloyd was the perfect choice for the role as he’s been at the forefront of visual effects in a lot of his projects, and stated thatWednesdayseason 2, part 2, will expand on Orloff’s backstory, and hint at how emotional the arc will be. He likens the character to Thing, and praises Lloyd’s performance.
We always want to push and challenge ourselves in terms of visual effects and what we can do, so an idea came up: ‘What if one teacher at the school was just a head in a jar?’ We thought Chris would be perfect, because he’s always been on the forefront of visual effects with his movies.
The idea is, can you feel emotion for someone whose character is just a head in a jar? And I think by the end of the season, you do. It’s a bit like Thing [Victor Dorobantu]. How do you embody an amputated hand with so much personality?
And you really feel for him. So, that’s something that we were excited about, and Chris knocked it out of the park in terms of his performance.
What This Means For Lloyd’s Wednesday Legacy
Lloyd is not the only actor from the originalAddams Familymovie to appear in the show, with'90s Wednesday actress Christina Ricciappearing as Laurel Gates in the show. And his season 2 appearance is a great way of providing an anchor to the movies.
The fact that Lloyd is in both the movies and the series cements his legacy as an Addams Family icon, and playing a different character in each is a testament to his range and depth as an actor. The fact that Orloff’s journey is not completed either means that Lloyd will have the chance to flesh out his character later in the season.
Our Take On Lloyd’s Wednesday Season 2 Journey
With Orloff being a new character introduced inWednesdayseason 2, it would have been easy for him to feel strange, and that audiences would not be able to connect to him. However, the familiarity of Lloyd, and his performance as Orloff made the character feel like he had always been an integral part of the show.
Wednesdayseason 2, part 2 is set to premiere on August 05, 2025.
Following Orloff’s journey through the rest of season 2 will be a treat for viewers and a chance for Lloyd to have a meatier part in the show. It will be interesting to see the direction Orloff takes in the second half of the season, and he could even become a core part ofWednesday’s plot.
Wednesday
Cast
Wednesday follows the journey of Wednesday Addams as she attends Nevermore Academy, a boarding school for outcasts. Tasked with mastering her psychic abilities, she confronts a series of town murders and a haunting family mystery from 25 years ago, all while managing new social dynamics.
