‘Wednesday’ Music Team on the ‘Darkness’ of Lady Gaga, Why Enid Would Love ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ & More

Expectations for the music team behind Netflix’s Wednesday were always going to be high when it came to season 2, with the first installment of the reimagined Addams Family series pulling in historic numbers for the streamer when it first premiered in 2022. With 341.23 million hours watched, it broke the record previously held by Stranger Things 4 for first-week views on the platform.  

But part of what made the show’s debut as successful as it was can be chalked up to its memorable musical moments, both planned and not. Everything from Jenna Ortega’s original choreography to the black dress she was wearing at a Nevermore Academy formal scene became “iconic” – as music supervisor Jen Malone tells Billboard – thanks to a perfectly creepy-crawly “Goo Goo Muck” synch, after which The Cramps also got an 8,650% streaming boost on the track. And when fans started using the scene to make edits paired with Lady Gaga’s “Bloody Mary,” the show’s popularity only continued to surge while the 11-year-old Born This Way deep cut became an unofficial yet unequivocal part of the Wednesday universe.  

Naturally, three years later, fans of the series weren’t just going to be dying to see how Wednesday Addams (played by Jenna Ortega) would return to handle her unfinished business with love interest-turned-killer monster Tyler Galpin — and solve the mystery of her anonymous stalker — they would also be expecting even more inspired musical choices. Adding to the pressure was Mother Monster herself joining the show, with Gaga coming aboard to play the ghost of a deceased Nevermore professor — who at one point sends Wednesday down a dangerous path as she tries to regain her psychic abilities – and contribute an original song titled “The Dead Dance” to the show.  

But just as Miss Addams always seems to find a way out of trouble – near-death experiences included – the Wednesday music team absolutely rose to the occasion on season 2, particularly shining on the second batch of episodes that premiere Wednesday (Sept. 3). Below, Malone, co-supervisor Nicole Weisberg and composer Chris Bacon tell Billboard all about how they pushed the show’s sonic world into even darker territory, while simultaneously subverting viewer expectations with an Enid-approved BLACKPINK tribute, honoring the Addams family’s Hispanic roots, working with Gaga and more. 

(Also, beware – spoilers for the second half of Wednesday are fair game beyond this point!)

What was it like to score music for Lady Gaga’s scenes? Did you take any cues from her performance on screen while composing?

Bacon: It was naturally very exciting to see Lady Gaga pop up on screen, but it was also just treating her like she’s any other character. What is her job? What is her role in this story? Who is who is her character? What is her emotional arc? She brings a certain mythology with her, and there’s a certain mystery and maybe a hint of darkness to her, just like everybody in the Wednesday universe. So it was fun to get to play with that musically.

She delivers her performance in a very specific way, and I don’t necessarily need to add to that as much as complement it in a way. So, I played a lot with some more synthetic sounds, kind of at a higher frequency, and played with reverse effects based on what her job is in the story. 

The “Bloody Mary” phenomenon from last season was almost a moment of reverse music supervision, with fans being the ones to say, “This is the song we think goes best here.” As music supervisors, what was your reaction to that, especially now seeing how it led to Gaga joining the show? 

Weisberg: When we first heard about it, we were like, “What? What is happening?” That’s sort of pop culture for you at its best, evolving on its own. It has a mind of its own sometimes. 

I mean, Lady Gaga is so iconic that it’s like — who knows if this would have happened on its own or not? But it was definitely a treat for all of us to see, like Chris said, someone like that popping on screen and bringing such an added element. 

“Goo Goo Muck” also went crazy viral last season. Did you feel pressure to recreate that virality this time around?

Malone: We really don’t look for that, and that’s not really our job. Our job is to service the story and the characters. The song just being what it is, I think it really lent itself to that sticky moment. But we definitely do not look for or try to recreate moments that will go viral. 

Like with BLACKPINK, that’s just Enid’s sound. We have used K-pop in both season one and in season two, so that was just a natural extension of her character as opposed to, you know, “Ooh, maybe this can go viral.”

As you mentioned, BLACKPINK’s “BOOMBAYAH” plays during an unforgettable sequence where Enid (Emma Myers), trapped inside Wednesday’s body (and vice versa), cheerfully frolics around campus in uncharacteristically colorful clothing. Of all the K-pop hits, why was that the perfect one? 

Weisberg: Producers had this song in mind, and also, I think the nature of the song and the way the lyrics are, it kind of makes for a playful moment instead of, like, a K-pop love song. “BOOMBAYAH” and the way that song felt called for the comedic dancing that was going to go with it. But really, Jenna brought that whole sequence to life. 

When we got the script, we were pretty certain it was going to play well, just the counterpoint of her and Enid. The body-switch episode was definitely a really great script to receive. You’re kind of already imagining what it could be. 

Do you think Enid is a BLINK?

Weisberg: I think she’s a fan. Most people that age are. 

I think season one, it was more like, “Oh, she’d probably be into K-pop.” And then — I mean, it definitely hasn’t gotten less popular. So I think it sort of made sense to stay aligned there. When you think about, like, KPop Demon Hunters and what that’s doing right now on the charts … it’s sort of taking over, more so than pop music from the 2000s might have been. I think anyone her age is definitely aware of K-pop at this point. 

I bet Enid would love KPop Demon Hunters.

Weisberg: Yeah. I’m sure she would too. 

Malone: On many levels. [Laughs.]

How much was Jenna involved in the music this season?

Weisberg: She’s always involved in the cello, in her moments, for sure. She makes playlists, she’s really into being a part of that. 

Malone: She works very closely with her cello teacher because she has to get these pieces well in advance to learn. And she’s definitely involved in giving us notes and helping us get these songs arranged to where they need to be. 

This season, there seemed to be more allusions to the Addams family’s Hispanic roots, like when Gomez (Luis Guzmán) takes a shower while singing along to “Besame Mucho.” How much did you think about their heritage while crafting the music in S2?

Bacon: From a score standpoint, Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Gomez were much more involved this season, and they had more specific moments to themselves and also in conjunction with Wednesday. I think there were some more overt Latin elements this season as well. I mean, you have Catherine Zeta-Jones and Jenna Ortega in a blindfolded duel, and it was fun to introduce little guitar elements every now and then that could kind of connect to that, or to have an accordion presence that would come in with Gomez’s over-the-top romantic gestures.

We’re not trying to paint it too heavily, but just kind of nod to those moments. 

Weisberg: I would say it’s a pretty large part of forming their playlists. That is a big conversation point on our end, like, ‘What kind of Latin songs can we include that would make sense?’ The tango in episode three was definitely a fun way to allude to the traditions of Addams family past, but kind of bring it to now. 

“Besame Mucho” was a great choice for the comedy of the moment, while also speaking to [Gomez’s] roots. There’s an artist we use in the first episode, Chavela Vargus, that we used in season one for a Wednesday moment. It’s sprinkled in there. I don’t know how much the audience notices that happening, but it’s definitely a large part of their musical palettes. 

You also reimagined The Cranberries’ “Zombie” and R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion” as instrumentals this season. What went into utilizing those songs? 

Malone: These were songs that have been on our playlist from season one that we were able to use in season two. 

Weisberg: I really like “Zombie.” I don’t think we’ve had a piano element before. But the way the sequence turned out, it’s playing over so much plot. It’s always nice when you can milk a use, for lack of a better term, like, just have it extend and play across multiple things and apply multiple ways. And I think that melody, everyone knows it at this point. As soon as it comes in, I feel like it sort of sets a tone for that long montage.

Bacon: I think what’s fun about that moment specifically is that it plays so differently from the original version. It’s almost subconscious a little bit, until you realize, “Oh, wait, I’ve heard this before. What is this?” But it doesn’t distract you from it. And that’s where I think some of the magic happens, is that there are a lot of layers happening there, and you hear this beautiful, romantic piano version of this anthemic rock song. And then to have it happening over a prison break with zombies eating brains and things like that, there are a lot of layers that go into making it land in a unique way.

What would you say are the biggest differences between the music in season one and two?

Weisberg: Expanding on Morticia and Gomez as characters. They weren’t as present in season one, so kind of getting to dig into: What are the Morticia songs? What are the Gomez songs? That was a really fun shift.

Bacon: I think from my standpoint, it’s just bigger. You haven’t seen the finale yet, but it’s sort of, like, epic moment after epic moment after epic moment. It’s very cinematic and ambitious, but also really delivers in a way that’s very satisfying. Getting to utilize those [musical] tools of cinema for what we call TV – although, who knows what TV is anymore? – it felt very expanded and dramatic.

Malone: Everything was much bigger this season, even plotwise. There’s so much going on, and there are so many new characters. So, being able to just expand the musical palette a little bit, but still stay very true to our roots and what we built in season one … this season we had just a little bit more opportunity.