SPOILER ALERT: This piece contains spoilers for Wednesday Season 2 Part 1.
Two comedic characters who provide breaks and relief from the horror and jump scares of Wednesday Season 2 are Steve Buscemi’s Principal Barry Dort and Fred Armisen’s Uncle Fester.
Buscemi joined Season 2 as a newcomer to the world of Nevermore Academy, replacing the late Larissa Weems (Gwendoline Christie) and embracing “Outcast pride.” In one of his first scenes addressing the entire student body, Dort runs out onto a stage at the Founder’s Pyre celebration to Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark.”
“[The song] was actually in the script, and Tim Burton just gave me the greatest note. He said, ‘Yeah, this is when Dort comes out and does his dad dancing.’ I thought ‘Okay, I know what that is,’” Buscemi told Deadline. “And the fact that Dort thinks he’s so cool doing it, and that he thinks he’s the big new man on campus, and that everybody’s going to immediately love him. He says his name, expecting a big reaction, and there’s just silence, but he quickly figures out, ‘Okay, I have to try a new tactic,’ and I’m just going to be the cheerleader. And that’s what they respond to.”
Returning guest star Fred Armisen has some hilarious scenes as Uncle Fester in Episode 4, the last one of Season 2 Part 1. He spoke to Deadline about “the great buildup” to his character’s time in the spotlight, which can be found in greater detail below.
Also in the below interview, Buscemi talks Dort’s ulterior motives in differentiating strategy from the late Principal Weems, Armisen discusses whether he feels pressure to provide comedic relief and the pair of actors speculate whether viewers could see their characters interact in Season 2 Part 2.
Fred Armisen as Uncle Fester in ‘Wednesday’ Season 2
Courtesy of Netflix
DEADLINE: Fred, how did you approach Fester’s comedic scenes when he comes back in Episode 4? Did you improvise anything?
FRED ARMISEN: No, it was so well written and so funny. So right away, as soon as I read those scripts, I remember just laughing at it, and it’s so much in that fourth episode that it’s worth the wait. Even for me, to be like, ‘Well, let’s get into it’ when he finally goes to the insane asylum. What a great build up towards it, and the lines are really funny. So there was no improvisation because it just didn’t need it, and I didn’t feel like, just throwing it in for no reason. I was like, ‘Oh, it’s all there.’
DEADLINE: Steve, how did you differentiate Barry Dort from Principal Weems, and also what goes into his decision to abolish The Nightshades?
“I love that he has disdain for the tactics of Principal Weems. He’s constantly saying she was all about incorporating the Normies. No more Normies. He really has that Outcast pride. It was interesting that he wanted to abolish The Nightshades. With him, there’s always another reason, a nefarious reason that he’s doing the things that he’s doing, even though he really does love being an Outcast. It’s a weird dichotomy. And he wants Wednesday on his side. He loves Wednesday, and at the same time, he loves getting the Wednesday treatment, which means she’s just indifferent to.”
Steve Buscemi as Barry Dort in ‘Wednesday’
Helen Sloan/Netflix
DEADLINE: Fred, there have been whispers of an Uncle Fester spinoff. I’m curious if that is still in development, and do you feel any pressure bringing these comedic relief moments to the horror parts of the show?
ARMISEN: No, there’s no pressure. It’s so fun to do. It feels very organic. That’s all I can really say about it as far as the anticipation of it all. I love getting to do it and to embody this character who’s existed for a long time. That’s the fun of it.
DEADLINE: For both of you, could we potentially see your characters interact in Part 2?
BUSCEMI: No spoilers but…
ARMISEN: I feel like something related to a janitor’s closet because it’s in the school. I feel like that’s the one kind of room where Fester might need something, and Dort would need something.
