If you told me a decade ago that Tim Burton would direct an Addams family reboot and that it would be so mundane, I wouldnt have believed you. Yet here we are

Look, the cast here is pretty good and the acting is about the same as you might expect in a teen drama, though each member of the Addams family does a good job.

But there isn't much else here to praise.

The pilot it far too long, resulting in a fairly boring episode of TV. It's lacking in any sort of tension, which is a key ingredient of both horror and comedy, the two genres this is working to fit in.

Visually it's broadly uninspired. A few neat choices but most of the set design, costume design, lighting, and cinematography is undistinguishable from any other teen drama.

The characters and their relationships are much in the same vein as everything else. Wednesday herself feels very edgy for the sake of edgy, lacking in any clear motivation for her actions and feelings once the real meat of the episode starts. This is fine for her as part of a broader ensemble, but not as the lead in a show

Notably, on all of these issues, the show is inferior to the very similar "Sabrina" show on Netflix.

The show, especially with Burton directing, feels like it would have excelled with a more satiracle or post modern type approach, like the one he brought to much of his work in the 90s and 00s.

The pilot does not provide a compelling argument to keep watching. If I do and it improves, I'll update the rating.