In Wednesday, Jericho is set in Vermont in the show, but the show was actually filmed at historic buildings and sets in Bucharest, Romania.
The The Addams Family franchise has become known for the very specific look of its films and shows over the years.
The new Wednesday series on Netflix also has this same aesthetic, but even though the town in the show is set in Vermont, in truth, the show was filmed on location and on special-built sets in Romania.
The Addams Family’s signature aesthetic
Although the The Addams Family franchise has created everything from television shows, films, books, and animations to merchandise over the years, many of the most recognisable aspects from the franchise come from the original Charles Addams New Yorker cartoon in which he invented the lovable group of misfit characters.
Since then, The Addams Family’s signature gothic and macabre look and tone has become synonymous with the franchise.
Although each new entry into the The Addams Family franchise does have its own unique spin, the signature The Addams Family black and white, gloomy, and spooky aesthetic stays the same throughout and has been referenced multiple times in fashion shows, Halloween costumes, and other popular culture realms.
Was Wednesday filmed in Vermont?
When Netflix’s Wednesday series was first announced, fans of the franchise were excited to see what Tim Burton would be able to create when he paired his own eerie aesthetic with that of the The Addams Family franchise.
In the first episode of Wednesday, Wednesday Addams is sent to a special boarding school for students with supernatural abilities, called Nevermore Academy.
Although this fictional school is in Jericho, Vermont in the show, in reality, most of the show was shot on location in Romania.
Nevermore Academy, including the greenhouse and Principal Weems’s office, Pilgrim World, Weathervane Cafe, and other locations were all either filmed at real historical locations in Romania, or on sets built at Buftea Studios just outside of Bucharest.
This was done to help Burton and the production team to capture the signature neo-gothic elements that the The Addams Family franchise has become synonymous with.
The post-production team and set designers had to work together to make the sets and locations look like they could fit into Vermont in real life, but also to make sure that they did not lose the dark and gloomy tone of the show completely in the process.
Which locations in Wednesday were real, and which were sets?
Most of the scenes in Wednesday, where the background seemed almost too beautiful to be true, were filmed in real historical locations in and around Bucharest.
This includes the following scenes in Wednesday:
| Scenes | Real filming location |
| Exterior shots of Nevermore Academy | Cantacuzino Castle |
| Principal Weems’s office | Monteoru House |
| Nevermore Academy greenhouse | Bucharest Botanical Garden |
| Hallways of Nevermore Academy | Niculescu-Dorobanțu manor |
| The Poe Cup race | Brănești Lake |
| The Gates Mansion | Olga Greceanu’s home in Bâlteni village. |
Most of the other, outdoor scenes in Wednesday, including Pilgrim World, most of the restaurants and shops in Jericho town, Wednesday and Enid’s room, the courtyard, and the secret library, were entirely constructed or were only facades in sets that were built at Buftea Studios.
What kinds of special effects were used on set?
While filming on location in Romania helped gave Wednesday the kind of dark and gloomy look that the show has now become known for since its release, the post-production and set designers also added some features to the sets and historic locations to make them suit the show.
This includes altering the appearance of Cantacuzino Castle to make the roof resemble the original The Addams Family home, adding gargoyles to the outside of Nevermore Academy as well as creepy touches like the Medusa fireplace in Principal Weems’s office and the spider web window in Wednesday’s room.
Where did the set designers for Wednesday take inspiration from?
The sets in Wednesday had to capture many different cultures, fit in with Tim Burton’s style, and pay homage to The Addams Family’s history, which is a lot to achieve.
Fortunately, the show’s production designer, Mark Scruton, managed to do this by combining elements from shows like James Bond, Beetlejuice, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Fans of the show have also noticed that the sets that were built for the show, especially Jericho town, resemble the town of Stars Hollow from the Gilmore Girls show quite closely.
However, while this fictional town may have served as inspiration for the set designer that wanted to make these Romanian sets look like they belong in New England, they were filmed far away from the Warner Bros. lot in Los Angeles.