Wednesday Season 2 Needs To Avoid The Lady Gaga Mistake Joker 2 Made

Wednesday’s season two will be boosted by the introduction of Lady Gaga, who has been confirmed as a member of the cast for the highly anticipated Netflix show. It’s unknown who she will be portraying in the series, but the announcement of her presence in the show has proven to be a popular decision.

Lady Gaga is best known for her incredibly successful music career. That’s why it can be tempting for her to have a musical number in any movie or television show she’s in, but it might be best for Wednesday to avoid that where possible.

What Was The Mistake Joker 2 Made?

Lady Gaga’s inclusion in Joker: Folie a Deux was a positive development. People were excited about the idea of her being part of the cast. She tends to play exaggerated characters, so her role as Harley Quinn seemed to be perfect casting. However, Joker 2 ended up being a divisive movie with critically and commercially mixed reviews.

That wasn’t due to her own acting skills but because of the general movie, which was a stark contrast from the original. A big reason was that Joker 2 opted to lean towards the musical genre by having various songs throughout it. That led to some brilliant moments for Lady Gaga as she could dive headfirst into something she was comfortable with. However, seeing the psychological thriller blended with the musical aspect was quite a stark contrast that did take people out of the movie at times, which creates an interesting risk for the upcoming

season of Wednesday.

Why Wednesday Should Avoid It

Much like Joker 2, Wednesday isn’t a series that lends itself to being a musical with how the first season was set up. Even though there is a legitimate musical based around The Addams Family, the Netflix series can still lean into that and create lots of musical numbers, as it would likely feel jarring compared to what happened in the first season. The original season was dark with its theme, and seeing Lady Gaga blast out a song wouldn’t suit the tone that has been created.

Of course, the original season featured the iconic Jenna Ortega dance scene, which Lady Gaga herself performed on TikTok, which got people talking about her possibly being in the show to begin with. However, that wasn’t the character of Wednesday that did the singing; she was dancing to music that was being played at the time. It felt like something that would have happened in an everyday scenario, and that didn’t take people out of what they were watching. This could be an easy workaround for Netflix if they wish to have Lady Gaga in a similar scenario, but much of that will depend on the type of character she plays on the show.

Lady Gaga Should Have A Serious Role

It can be tempting to give Lady Gaga a musical number whenever she’s acting because those writing it know she will deliver an excellent performance. However, that doesn’t mean it needs to happen because it can feel like shoehorning the scene just because she’s a talented singer. Netflix should not feel the need to make that happen because it could detract from a scene or plot in which Lady Gaga is involved.

She has worked best as an actress throughout her career when taking on serious roles with clear characters that she could sink her teeth into. That was clear when she was part of American Horror Story, and she didn’t need any musical scenes to prove her quality in that. Allowing her to act and showcase her skills in that environment would get people talking more than having her sing to create one potentially viral scene.

If her character is used to provide jokes or moments of levity, then a musical scene or two would suit her, especially if they took songs from the musical that some fans might be familiar with. However, if she takes on a more serious role like what Ortega has suggested, it could be difficult for her to do that. Ortega believes that Lady Gaga would be good in a mentorship role, and if that’s the case, then it would feel out of place for her to sing.

Wednesday managed to perfect the tone within the first season, which is why it proved to be so popular with audiences. The decision to completely change it would risk alienating fans who might have no interest in watching a musical, which is the exact problem that Joker 2 suffered with. The movie’s drastic change in tone caused a problem for many, and that’s why Wednesday shouldn’t risk that just because Lady Gaga is now part of the show.