From the pages of magazines to the television to the big screen, America’s favorite gothic and macabre clan have experienced their fair share of trials and tribulations. Created by cartoonist Charles Addams in 1938, this dynasty of freaks, fiends, and weirdos is the subject of both animated and live-action cinematic projects.
In October, director Tim Burton announced he’s bringing the Addams Family back yet again for a live-action TV series. While the world speculates about who will play Gomez, Morticia, and Uncle Fester, there’s a deep, dark trove of older Addams Family TV shows and movies to dive straight into.
Updated on January 25th, 2023 by Jordan Iacobucci: Netflix’s Wednesday starring Jenna Ortega as the iconic eponymous character has taken the world by storm, making it seem very likely that there will be plenty more Addams Family content in the years to come. As the latest iteration of the creepiest and kookiest family on television begins its run, fans of the classic franchise can look back at the many adaptations of the Addams Family to hit theaters and television over the decades.
The Addams Family (1964 – 1966)
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ABC was the first network to bring the Addams Family to life on the screen with The Addams Family, which aired for two seasons, billing itself as a ghoulish–but family-friendly–situational comedy that explores the many ways in which the titular tribe clashes with the outside world.
The series stars the central cast of characters seen in all subsequent dramatizations: Gomez, Morticia, Wednesday, Pugsley, Grandmama, Uncle Fester, Lurch, and Thing. It’s also the first to include Vic Mizzy’s iconic, finger-snapping theme music, which quickly became an iconic piece of the franchise’s style moving forward.
Scooby-Doo Meets The Addams Family (1972)
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After The Addams Family ended, the eponymous family didn’t return to television until 1972, guest-starring in one of Hanna-Barbera’s The New Scooby-Doo Movies. In Scooby-Doo Meets the Addams Family, also known as Wednesday is Missing, Scooby and his gang get tricked into babysitting Wednesday and Pugsley so Gomez and Morticia can go on a second honeymoon.
This series helped bring the Addams Family back into public consciousness, paving the way for future adaptations to resurrect the kooky family for television projects. It also proved that the family was incredibly well-suited to animated adaptations, a medium that has continued to play a massive role in the franchise’s success to this very day.
The Addams Family Fun-House (1973)
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The Addams Family Fun-House didn’t make it past a pilot episode, but it is nevertheless an infamous contribution to the franchise among fans. This ABC project hoped to add a musical spin to the chronicles of the Addams Family, employing live actors to play the family members, who also serve as hosts to a spooky variety show.
A new generation of actors, including Jack Riley and Liz Torres, were cast, but the project was never picked up as a series, leaving The Addams Family Fun-House as nothing more than a footnote in the long history of the franchise’s more successful movies and shows.
The Addams Family (1973)
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Thanks to the popularity of Scooby-Doo Meets the Addams Family, Hanna-Barbera Productions launched the first animated Addams Family TV series in 1973. In the show, which aired for only one season, the Addams embark on a cross-country road trip in their aptly-titled Creepy Camper.
Even though the series fell into obscurity shortly after it came to an end, it does contain voice acting from an 11-year-old Jodie Foster, who plays Pugsley. The series has not been overly important in contributing to the development of other projects centered on The Addams Family, though future animated series would soar where this series flopped.
Halloween With The New Addams Family (1977)
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NBC paid homage to the original live-action series with a 1977 Halloween special entitled Halloween with the New Addams Family. This project brought together most of the original actors from the 1964 series, including John Astin and Carolyn Jones. In the made-for-TV feature-length film, Gomez and Morticia are targeted by a group of thieves while Gomez squabbles with his brother Pancho.
The existence of this television special seems to acknowledge the importance of the original cast to the success of projects centered around the Addams Family. It would be over a decade before the family appeared in live-action again in any medium, marking one of the franchise’s longest breaks of all time.
The Addams Family (1991)
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It would be almost 15 years before The Addams Family was revived following their Halloween special, but they came back with a bang in Barry Sonnenfeld’s 1991 theatrical film. Updated for modern audiences, the film includes memorable performances from Anjelica Houston, Christopher Lloyd, and Christina Ricci.
The plot revolves around a loan shark who attempts to defraud the Addams clan for their vast wealth and material possessions, giving the iconic family a chance to introduce themselves to modern audiences, proving to be a major hit. The film effectively resurrected the long-dead franchise, earning great success for years to come.
The Addams Family: The Animated Series (1992 – 1993)
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Coinciding with the popular movie, The Addams Family: The Animated Series debuted on ABC in 1992 as part of their Saturday morning cartoons. Lasting two seasons, it sees the family conducting their usual sitcom antics at home.
As with other family sitcoms, everyone usually comes together at the end to resolve their issues and concerns, providing yet another heartwarming, if not somewhat forgettable, addition to the Addams Family pantheon.
Addams Family Values (1993)
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Barry Sonnenfeld also helms the big-screen sequel to 1991’s The Addams Family, which is titled Addams Family Values. After giving birth to a new child, Pubert, Morticia and Gomez hire a nanny named Debbie — who turns out to be a gold-digging serial killer.
Debbie sends Wednesday and Pugsley off to summer camp while making moves on Uncle Fester in hopes of absconding with his fortune, making for yet another wild ride in the Addams Family universe. The film has often been hailed as one of the best adaptations of the Addams Family ever, becoming the definitive version of the classic family for an entire generation.
Addams Family Reunion (1998)
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Filmed as a pilot for a new live-action Addams Family series, Addams Family Reunion is a direct-to-video movie that sees Tim Curry and Daryl Hannah playing Gomez and Morticia, respectively. Director Dave Payne hoped to make a dark comedy, but the movie’s production company, Saban Entertainment, insisted the story be geared specifically toward children.
Even though Curry shines as Gomez in this project, the movie was lambasted by critics as one of the worst in the Addams Family franchise. It ultimately failed to appeal to longtime fans, especially those who had enjoyed Barry Sonnenfeld’s adaptation just five years prior.
The New Addams Family (1998 – 1999)
Saban and Shavick Entertainment collaborated on this American-Canadian revival of The Addams Family birthed from the 1998 television movie. A 65-episode sitcom, The New Addams Family was canceled after its first season. John Astin, the first actor who ever played Gomez, notably returns here as Grandpapa Addams.
While The New Addams Family does provide plenty of material for longtime fans of the franchise to immerse themselves in, it ultimately failed to resurrect the series in any meaningful or long-lasting way. It would be twenty years before another adaptation of The Addams Family hit screens, effectively ending the franchise for two full decades.
The Addams Family (2019)
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Universal Pictures brought the Addams Family to a new generation of kids with their successful 2019 computer-animated venture that proved to be a major hit. In The Addams Family, a star-studded cast — including Oscar Isaac and Charlize Theron — gives voice to the infamous crew.
In the film, the Addams Family is harassed by a reality TV producer in the film, who hopes to rid the town of Morticia and Gomez to make her show Assimilation a reality. Ultimately, the film managed to spark a renewed interest in the iconic family, leading to a 2021 sequel and other future unrelated adaptations.
The Addams Family 2 (2021)
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In 2021, the computer-animated Addams Family returned to the big screen for The Addams Family 2. This sequel continues the legacy with many of the same voice actors from the previous film, this time with Bill Hader and Javon “Wanna” Walton joining the cast.
Unlike its predecessor, The Addams Family 2 was widely panned by critics and fans as a soulless and uninspired sequel. The film failed to generate any buzz from longtime fans and ultimately brought about the end of this particular adaptation of the family, with no sequels currently in development.
Wednesday (2022)
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Wednesday is the first live-action adaptation of the Addams Family in over twenty years, following Jenna Ortega’s eponymous character in an eight-episode endeavor into her journeys at a mysterious boarding school as a string of unexplained events hint toward a monster within its walls. Catherine Zeta-Jones, Fred Armisen, and Luis Guzmán portray Morticia, Uncle Fester, and Gomez, respectively.
Within weeks, Wednesday became one of Netflix’s most-watched original series ever, with heavy praise directed at Tim Burton’s pitch-perfect tone and Jenna Ortega’s unforgettable performance. The series has become a widespread phenomenon, unseating most other recent adaptations of the Addams Family as the version to define the next generation of fans. After the show’s immense success, it was quickly greenlit for a second season which could propel the franchise to new heights of popularity.
