TV - Movies
How The Addams
Family's Creator
Really Felt About
The Classic
TV Show
By CAMERON ROY HALL
The Addams Family has had countless reimaginings from movies and musicals throughout the years, including Netflix’s new spin-off series “Wednesday.” Experts have expressed what the original creator, Charles Addams, might think about all of these adaptations through his opinion of the 1964 live-action series.
Linda H. Davis, author of “Charles Addams: A Cartoonist’s Life” said that Charles Addams had mixed feelings about the TV show that was adapted from his original comic strips. Davis said, “He certainly enjoyed what ‘The Addams Family’ did for his earning power, but he said the characters were ‘half as evil.’ To be honest, he didn’t even really watch it.”
It seems as if Addams was content to continue creating his original comic while profiting off a different variant, even if it didn’t fully commit to his disturbing theme. Stephen Cox, author of film-themed books like “The Addams Chronicles,” said, “The TV show wasn’t as dark as the strips [...] but it captured the flavor of what Charles Addams was doing in the New Yorker.”