Wednesday: Danny Elfman brought in a partner to help him compose score for episodic TV

Director Tim Burton made his television directing debut by taking the helm of the first four episodes of the Netflix series Wednesday‘s eight episode first season. And when the time came to choose who would provide the music for the show, Burton went with his frequent collaborator Danny Elfman, who had also never worked in episodic TV before (aside from composing themes). Speaking with IndieWire, Elfman discussed the fact that he brought in a partner to help him face the challenge of composing the score for a TV series.

Elfman said, “I brought on a partner, Chris Bacon, to work with me because I’d never done episodic television. I was afraid that there was going to be a learning curve that was going to be kind of crushing. And it was. It’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced before, you’re dealing with delivering full scores, almost as long as a film score actually, every 10 days.”

Bacon had worked in TV multiple times before, with his credits including providing the music for 50 episodes of Bates Motel and 22 episodes of The Tick. The score Elfman and Bacon came up with for Wednesday includes elements that pay homage to the theme of the classic The Addams Family sitcom, most notably the finger snapping. While Burton had previously resisted including homage elements in the scores for his Elfman collaborations Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Batman, he let it slide this time. Elfman said “there never was an easier thematic piece to pay homage to” than the finger snapping.

Gandja Monteiro and James Marshall split directing duties on the four episodes of Wednesday that weren’t directed by Burton. Created by showrunners Al Gough and Miles Millar, the show is described as

a comedic, supernaturally-infused coming-of-age series that follows the teenage girl’s years as a student at Nevermore Academy, where she attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a monstrous killing spree that has terrorized the town, and solve a mystery that embroiled her parents 25 years ago — all while navigating her new relationships at Nevermore. Snap snap.

Jenna Ortega plays Wednesday, with Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley and Luis Guzmán and Catherine Zeta-Jones as Gomez and Morticia. They are joined on the show by Riki Lindhome as Wednesday’s therapist Dr. Valerine Kinbot; Joy Sunday as Siren Nevermore student Bianca Barclay; Emma Myers as Wednesday’s sunny roommate Enid Sinclair; Hunter Doohan as townie Tyler Galpin; Moosa Mostafa as quirky Nevermore student Eugene Otinger; Georgie Farmer as awkward and shy Nevermore student Ajax Petropolus; Naomi J. Ogawa as vampire Nevermore student Yoko Tanaka; Percy Hynes White as supernaturally artistic Nevermore student Xavier Thorpe; Jamie McShane as Sheriff Donovan Galpin, Tyler’s father, who has a vendetta against Gomez; Gwendoline Christie as Larissa Weems, “the principal of Nevermore Academy who still has an axe to grind with her former classmate Morticia Addams”; Victor Dorobantu as Thing, the non-verbal disembodied hand; George Burcea as Lurch; Tommie Earl Jenkins as Mayor Walker; Iman Marson as Lucas Walker; William Houston as Joseph Crackstone; Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo as Deputy Santiago; Oliver Watson as Kent; Calum Ross as Rowan; and Johnna Dias Watson as Divina.

Thora Birch had signed on to play a character named Tamara Novak, “Wednesday’s dorm mother and the only ‘normie’ on staff at Nevermore Academy, with a focus on all things botanical.” Sadly, due to a family illness, Birch had to leave the production in Romania and return to the United States before filming was complete. Christina Ricci, who previously played Wednesday herself in the live-action feature films The Addams Family and The Addams Family Values, replaced Birch, taking on the role of Marilyn Thornhill.

Have you seen Wednesday yet? If so, what did you think of the score Elfman and Bacon came up with? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.