With Wednesday season 2 adding another iconic member of the Addams family to its story, the spinoff has a choice to make regarding how its portrayal will compare to past adaptations. While it’s now been confirmed that Wednesday season 2 will be missing two previous characters, Xavier and Yoko, the Netflix show is still adding plenty more faces to the ensemble upon its return, including both new franchise characters and existing figures. Among the new additions in season 2 is Wednesday’s grandmother, Grandmama (Joanna Lumley), a classic figure from The Addams Family world who has appeared in several adaptations.

While Wednesday’s Addams family tree is growing in season 2 with Grandmama’s introduction, there are still plenty of remaining relatives for the show to include. Grandmama’s absence from season 1 came as somewhat of a surprise given the series showcased the rest of the main family members from past Addams Family movies and shows, including Morticia, Gomez, Pugsley, Thing, Lurch, and Fester. However, now that she’s finally making her debut in Wednesday season 2, Netflix’s show has an important choice to make regarding Grandmama’s identity, which has often been a source of confusion across various iterations.

Wednesday Has To Decide Whether Grandmama Is An Addams Or Frump (It Changes)

Grandmama’s portrayal is inconsistent across Addams Family movies & shows

So far, Netflix hasn’t revealed a crucial detail about its depiction of Grandmama: whether she’s an Addams or a Frump. With so many versions of The Addams Family characters over the years, the ages and relations of the titular bunch have changed depending on show or film. Similar to how various interpretations of whether Pugsley or Wednesday is the older sibling, different Addams Family media have portrayed Grandmama as being either Gomez’s mother or Morticia’s mother. Though Charles Addams’ cartoons originally depicted her as being Gomez’s mother, this isn’t always how Grandmama has been portrayed on screen.

Wednesday’s Addams Family Members
Actor

Wednesday Addams
Jenna Ortega

Morticia Addams
Catherine Zeta-Jones

Gomez Addams
Luis Guzmán

Pugsley Addams
Isaac Ordonez

Uncle Fester Addams
Fred Armisen

Goody Addams
Jenna Ortega

Grandmama
Joanna Lumley

When the 1964 Addams Family sitcom finally gave the characters surnames and more solidified family connections, Grandmama was written as Gomez’s mother, but Charles Addams had once called her “Granny Frump.” Once the show premiered, however, Gomez and his family were given Addams’ last name, leading to “Frump” becoming Morticia’s maiden name and Gomez’s mother being named Grandmama Addams in her first screen appearance. Later on, the 1960s sitcom filled out some of Morticia’s family tree by introducing her mother as Granny Frump, thus establishing Grandmama and Granny Frump as separate characters.

However, when The Addams Family movies were released in 1991 and 1993, Grandmama’s relationship with Morticia and Gomez was changed. In the live-action ‘90s movies, Grandmama was introduced as Morticia’s mother, with Gomez’s parents having passed away before the films’ timeline. Then, when the 2019 and 2021 animated Addams Family movies arrived, “Grandmama” was once again the mother of Gomez and Fester, with Granny Frump then being introduced as Morticia’s mother. With so much back-and-forth about Grandmama over the years, there’s no automatic clarification of which side of the family she’ll be on in Wednesday season 2.

Grandmama Being Gomez’s Mother Seems Way More Likely After Wednesday Season 1’s Focus

Wednesday has prioritized the Addams family lineage

With the focus of Netflix’s Wednesday series being on the Addams family and their ancestors, such as the inclusion of Goody Addams in Wednesday season 1, it seems extremely likely that Grandmama will be depicted as Gomez and Fester’s mother. The show has already established that the Addamses have a long history at Nevermore Academy, so it would make sense for Wednesday season 2 to introduce Grandmama and explain how she likely attended the school prior to Gomez and Wednesday. While Wednesday season 2’s plot is still under wraps, it’s likely that the next mystery will connect to the Addamses’ ancestry again.

While Wednesday season 2’s plot is still under wraps, it’s likely that the next mystery will connect to the Addamses’ ancestry again.

The introduction of Grandmama was already teased in an Easter egg in Wednesday season 1’s flashbacks to young Wednesday’s birthday party, as a model of Grandmama was on the cake alongside the rest of the family members. While it seems that Grandmama lives with Morticia and Gomez at the Addams family mansion, thus explaining why she was on Wednesday’s cake, it’s unclear whether Granny Frump is alive in the Netflix show. If she is alive, then Wednesday could cast another actress to appear as Morticia’s mother, thus repeating the Addams Family sitcom’s dynamic.

What Other Classic Addams Family Members Wednesday Needs To Introduce After Grandmama

The Addams family tree can still expand

In addition to the potential for a Granny Frump inclusion, Grandmama’s introduction in Wednesday season 2 paves the way for more classic Addams Family characters like Cousin Itt to be featured. Furthermore, some other missing Addams family members who could make their debuts in Wednesday are Morticia’s sister Ophelia Frump, Morticia’s father, and Gomez’s father. With Wednesday season 1 highlighting the fact that the psychic characters can still make contact with their deceased ancestors, the show has no excuse to avoid introducing more of the immediate missing Addamses and Frumps regardless of their survival status.