Netflix’s Wednesday became nothing short of a cultural phenomenon after it debuted, introducing the iconic Addams Family to an entirely new generation through the darkly imaginative lens of executive producers and showrunners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar alongside visionary filmmaker Tim Burton.
With Season 2, the trio have presented an even more ambitious, visually daring, and emotionally layered return to Nevermore Academy. Awards Buzz sat down with the acclaimed duo to discuss collaborating with Burton, evolving the series creatively, the additions of Steve Buscemi and Christopher Lloyd, and which categories they believe Emmy voters should keep their eyes on.
Scott Menzel: Before we kick things off, I just have to say this interview is a bit surreal for me because the whole reason I’m in this industry is because of Tim Burton. He was one of the masterminds who made me fall in love with film. So it is truly an honor to be speaking with both of you about a project that you collaborated on.
Miles Millar: Wow, thank you. That means a lot. Tim is such an inspiration and we feel incredibly privileged to work with him. It’s been a real five-year journey with him now between this and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and it’s been a fantastic partnership.
Alfred Gough: We’ve loved every second of it.
Scott Menzel: I actually saw Beetlejuice Beetlejuice in Venice because that’s how much of a fan I am. I literally went there for that and Joker 2.
Alfred Gough: Wow, that is commitment.
Scott Menzel: It absolutely was. But I have to ask, how did your relationship with Tim Burton begin? How did he come aboard Wednesday?
Miles Millar: We had been working on the idea of doing a Wednesday Addams series for about two years. Once we finished the pilot script, we thought, “Who better to direct and help shape this world than Tim Burton?” We’re all at the same agency, so we had our agents send it over, though everyone kept telling us Tim would never do television.
Alfred Gough: This was during COVID, and about three days later we heard from his agent that Tim had read it, loved it, and wanted to speak with us. Naturally, instead of a Zoom call, it was a FaceTime because Tim didn’t know how to use Zoom yet.
Miles Millar: He was at a country house outside Oxford walking around this incredible garden filled with life-sized dinosaur statues while talking to us about how much he loved the script and Wednesday as a character. He said he had never done long-form television before, but he loved the fact that we came from television and could support him through that process.
Scott Menzel: The second season feels so fresh and so different from the first in the best possible way. I have to ask about that incredible stop-motion sequence in the premiere. Was that always in the script?
Miles Millar: Yes, that was always in the script. We knew we needed a unique way to tell that backstory and didn’t want to do a conventional flashback.
Alfred Gough: We thought stop-motion would not only be a perfect nod to Tim’s earlier work, but it would also give that sequence a fable-like quality. It helped us hide the actor a bit and made the reveal more effective from a storytelling standpoint.
Miles Millar: Also, we figured if we were ever going to spend the money on stop-motion, this was the moment to do it.
Scott Menzel: I squealed when I saw that because it instantly took me back to Frankenweenie and Vincent. It was such a wonderful touch. Another huge standout this season is Steve Buscemi. He is a brilliant addition. How did that come together?
Alfred Gough: We knew we needed a new principal who felt very different from what Gwendoline Christie brought in Season 1. We wanted someone who could fit naturally into this world without overwhelming it.
Miles Millar: We’ve always been huge fans of Steve. We actually wanted to work with him years ago on Shanghai Noon. Tim had worked with him before, and we knew he had the right comedic instincts.
Alfred Gough: We got on Zoom fully prepared to explain the entire first season to him, and it turns out he was already a massive fan of the show. He had watched it on his own and even rewatched it before our meeting. It was one of the quickest yeses we’ve ever gotten.
Miles Millar: And he came ready to play. I was on set for the “Dancing in the Dark” bonfire sequence at three in the morning in Ireland in freezing cold weather, and Steve was the life of the party. Every take he gave us something incredible.
Scott Menzel: One of the most striking things this season is just how much larger everything feels visually. The production design, costumes, score, practical effects, visual effects — everything feels elevated. Can you talk about building that out?
Miles Millar: We definitely had the luxury in Season 2 of the first season being successful, so we wanted to challenge ourselves and our team to go bigger and do better.
Alfred Gough: We have an extraordinary team. Colleen Atwood, who is a multiple Oscar winner and has worked with Tim for years, created exquisite costumes this season, especially for the gala. Every detail is elevated.
Miles Millar: Our visual effects team led by Tom Turnbull also did extraordinary work. There are creature transformations, the bonfire sequence, the Professor Orloff material — things that required months of prep.
Alfred Gough: We also moved production from Romania to Ireland and our biggest fear was that viewers would notice the shift. We wanted both seasons to feel seamless and consistent while still making the world feel larger.
Scott Menzel: There are shots in this season that feel like they could be freeze-framed and hung on a wall. Is there a particular scene that was especially difficult to pull off?
Miles Millar: The “Sum of Their Parts” meeting was a huge one for us because it’s such an insane concept on paper.
Alfred Gough: You have Christopher Lloyd as Professor Orloff leading this bizarre meeting, all these disconnected body parts, practical effects, visual effects, emotional beats — and somehow it all had to feel ridiculous and heartfelt at the same time.
Miles Millar: That’s kind of the sweet spot for this show. It can be absurd but still emotional.
Scott Menzel: That’s what fascinates me. This show gets away with things that normally would feel too bizarre, but somehow here it feels natural. How do you fully realize those huge imaginative swings?
Alfred Gough: The first thing is we never limit our imagination at the writing stage. We want the show to be ambitious.
Miles Millar: And we have a crew in Ireland that never says no, which is a gift. For example, Camp Jericho — they built that entire camp from scratch. The tents were ordered from India, Morocco, and Egypt. They built the fifty-foot tower and then took it all down after filming.
Alfred Gough: We learned from studying Tim’s films that what makes his worlds work is tactile reality. Minimal CGI. Real sets. Real costumes. Real environments. That authenticity is what grounds the madness.
Scott Menzel: Jenna Ortega and Emma Myers have such fantastic chemistry. On paper, it’s not something you necessarily know is going to click this way, but they’re lightning in a bottle together.
Miles Millar: Completely. It’s the alchemy you hope for but can never predict.
Alfred Gough: They really are our version of The Odd Couple. It’s chocolate and peanut butter. Somehow it just works.
Scott Menzel: You’ve created something that has become such a major part of pop culture. You can walk into Hot Topic and buy Wednesday shirts, or see kids dressing as her for Halloween. What does that feel like as creators?
Miles Millar: It’s overwhelming, honestly.
Alfred Gough: In a world where people have endless options of what to watch, the fact that they’ve chosen to engage so deeply with this world is incredibly gratifying.
Miles Millar: We’ve been doing this a long time, so to have a hit of this magnitude at this point in our career is both surprising and deeply rewarding. But it also makes us want to keep pushing and never get complacent.
Scott Menzel: Since this is Awards Buzz, I have to ask an awards-related question. If you could point Emmy voters toward one standout category they should really pay attention to, what would it be?
Miles Millar: Visual Effects, without question. There are so many elements of this show that viewers probably don’t even realize are visual effects. Professor Orloff alone required months of preparation and some really groundbreaking work.
Alfred Gough: I would also say Costume Design. Colleen Atwood absolutely outdid herself this season. Not only with the main cast, but with the gala and expanding the visual language of the world.
Miles Millar: Even something like introducing the color red into Morticia’s wardrobe is radical when audiences have known that character in black forever, but Colleen made it feel timeless and elegant.
Scott Menzel: I actually run the Astra Awards and we honored Colleen last year for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice because I thought her work there was extraordinary.
Alfred Gough: She deserved every bit of that.
Scott Menzel: Last question, and we ask this to everyone we interview. Other than Wednesday, what show or performance right now deserves Awards Buzz?
Miles Millar: I’d say Task, and specifically Mark Ruffalo.
Alfred Gough: I would agree. Task as well, and I’ll also shout out Jamie McShane because he’s fantastic in it.
Scott Menzel: Wonderful choices. Thank you both so much for taking the time to speak with me today. Best of luck this awards season and I’m sure we’ll be talking again soon.
Alfred Gough: Thanks, Scott.
Miles Millar: Really appreciate it.
With Wednesday Season 2, Alfred Gough and Miles Millar did not simply return audiences to Nevermore Academy, they have expanded the mythology in ways that feel richer, stranger, and even more visually mesmerizing than ever before. If the first season introduced viewers to a deliciously macabre world, Season 2 has made that world even bigger, bolder, and as far as I am concerned more awards-worthy.
