In the blink of an eye, Wednesday was a sensation and one of the best shows to binge on Netflix. However, it wasn’t an easy show for its star, Jenna Ortega, to work on. She’s been clear about that in the past, but now she’s enjoying herself a lot more. So, as we get a bit closer to Season 2’s premiere on the 2025 TV schedule, the actress has opened up about being “unhappy” when the first episodes came out and how that’s changed since.
With part one of Wednesday Season 2 set to drop on August 6, the hype is really starting to amp up. So, in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Jenna Ortega got candid about how the show impacted her life and career. She also spoke about the challenges that have come with starring in a hit, saying:
To be quite frank, after the show and trying to figure everything out, I was an unhappy person. After the pressure, the attention—as somebody who’s quite introverted, that was so intense and so scary.
Ortega has been honest about how it feels like she can be “perpetually in this loop of anxiety” when it comes to explaining how her life has changed post-Wednesday, as she told V Magazine. The fame she got from the show must have been overwhelming, and that mixed with various other challenges she’s spoken about makes her “unhappy” comments make sense.
Earlier in the story, she explained that she felt like she “didn’t really have a place” as they were writing and shooting Season 1. To that point, comments from a THR interview about putting her “foot down” on the set of Wednesday made the rounds in 2023, as she explained that she made it clear that what she had to say “mattered.” At that time, she also said things were improving because she is a producer on Season 2.
Speaking to that point in a new interview, the Scream actress said:
I sit in on meetings and listen and learn. I’m still finding my footing in that area.
Along with being happier about her role as an actress and producer on the show, Ortega is also thrilled about the direction Wednesday is headed in. She’s said she wanted to add more horror and gore into the show, and that’s what is happening:
Season 2 is bigger, bolder, gorier, and a bit darker. It’s sillier in the best way possible.
So, in terms of the story Season 2 will tell, Ortega has played an integral part, and it’s headed in a direction she likes.
On top of that, it sounds like she had a better time filming this season generally. Production moved to Dublin for Season 2, and that improved her experience as well, as she said:
Dublin was incredible. I loved everything about that experience, the cast, the crew. It was so sweet and so awesome. That island is so beautiful.
All around, it sounds like Jenna Ortega’s time working on Wednesday Season 2 was significantly better than Season 1.
I was already excited to watch Season 2 with my Netflix subscription. However, knowing that the show’s star had a much better time making it makes me even more thrilled to tune in, because the series will be even better knowing that Ortega’s full passion and enthusiasm are behind it.