Wednesday beats Moon Knight and Eleven for top TV character of 2022

The Addams Family films in the 1990s are a high bar for future adaptations to clear. Anjelica Huston and Raul Julia as Morticia and Gomez Addams are nothing but iconic, the youngest trio of Addamses are growing into their legacy with aplomb and the humour isn't much more than a cluster of one-liners... but what one-liners they were.

Ergo, the new Netflix show that followed a wayward Wednesday Addams who attends a remote boarding school for monstrous outcasts had a lot to live up to. Fortunately, Wednesday rose to the challenge and easily became one of the must-watch shows of last year. In its first week, Wednesday scored 341.2 million hours watched on the streaming service - the fourth season of Stranger Things accrued 286.79 million hours, to compare.

And now, according to the app TV Time, Wednesday was the top TV character of 2022 as per the data it had scraped from its user base of small screen spectators. Here's the list:

It's truly a testament to Wednesday's impact that the titular character triumphed over other longstanding contenders like Michael Scott from The Office, Thomas Shelby from Peaky Blinders and Eleven from Stranger Things. Ortega's portrayal of Wednesday Addams has been praised for her impeccable deadpan delivery, her intensity and her amazing ability to balance both charm and creepiness. And it's not just fans who have adored her performance.

"I think that Jenna is truly exceptional in this role," said Gwendoline Christie, who plays Larissa Weems, in an interview with ET Canada. "She does a really incredible job. And she is an actress of great capability, and great dynamism, and really extraordinary force. She is an incredible force, and she brings her own inimitable fresh take on Wednesday. And we see more of Wednesday than we've ever seen before."