January’s been a crazy month for Netflix’s latest smash-hit original series Wednesday, as the Addams Family reboot kicked off the new year with the welcome news that it was getting a second season but has since become embroiled in a sea of much less positive headlines. Star Percy Hynes White has found himself on the end of a string of disturbing allegations from multiple women, who accuse him of several instances of sexual assault and other misdemeanors during his teenage years.
Although neither Hynes nor Netflix have commented on the allegations as yet, the situation has naturally led to much speculation as to how this will affect the future of the series, with it seeming not out of the realm of possibility that Hynes could be replaced in the role of Xavier Thorpe, the love interest to the titular Wednesday Addams, for future seasons. However, it’s likely just as plausible that the scandal surrounding White could expand outside of Wednesday and tank another upcoming project of the show’s breakout talent, Jenna Ortega.
Just weeks after Wednesday launched to international acclaim in November 2022, early December brought the news that Ortega and Hynes were reteaming for a teen-focused romcom titled Winter Spring Summer or Fall. The pair were cast as two high school seniors who, despite being polar opposites, spark up an unlikely connection after a chance encounter in the wintertime. The indie film is believed to have already wrapped filming, having embarked on production in Utah last month, but it’s conceivable that the Hynes situation could impact on its release.
While not so long ago this project seemed like a slam-dunk, combining the two stars of the hottest new Netflix show around, the presence of Hynes as its male lead may now be more of an albatross around the film’s neck than a blessing — depending on how the situation develops, that is, and if the internet backlash against the Wednesday star continues to intensify.
In the meantime, catch Jenna Ortega in Scream VI, out March 10.