Netflix’s Addams Family spinoff 'Wednesday' Will Include a Fencing Storyline

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Of the many great fencing families out there, none is quite as creepy or as kooky as the Addams Family.

The Addamses have been fencing since at least their sitcom days of the 1960s, as seen in this clip shared by the FIE a few years back. Fans of the 1991 film The Addams Family may also remember this fencing scene in which the patriarch Gomez (played by Raul Julia) fences his lawyer, played by Dan Hedaya. 

Now, three decades later, the Addamses are back on the small screen and still swinging swords. 

Trailers and behind-the-scenes footage of the Netflix comedy horror series Wednesday, which debuts Nov. 23, reveal that the Addams Family spinoff will feature the fast-paced, intriguing and visually interesting sport of fencing.

In fact, Netflix even posted an interview with Jenna Ortega, who plays Wednesday Addams, in which the actress reveals she took fencing lessons to prepare for the pivotal scenes.

"I honestly was so nervous about this part because I want to do her justice,” Ortega says. “So I went to fencing lessons twice a week.”

Some simple internet sleuthing reveals that the club where she took her lessons is Avant Garde Fencers Club in Los Angeles, which can now proudly boast it taught a famous actress how to fence.

As for the eight-episode series itself, we don’t know for sure exactly how prominently fencing will feature. But we do know that both the official teaser and the full-length trailer include fencing scenes. 

In one scene, Wednesday, dressed in head-to-toe black, enters a room of white-clad fencing students. Before long, she’s fencing against another student (though neither has their mask on — yikes!). Wednesday, in case you’re curious, appears to be a saberist.  

We’ll be watching to see just how fencing is portrayed when Wednesday premieres on Nov. 23 on Netflix.