The Addams family is getting a whole lot more fabulous — and spooky — in Wednesday Season 2, and that’s thanks in large part to the legendary Joanna Lumley joining the cast as Grandmama Hester. If you’re wondering why that name sounds familiar (spoiler: it should), or why everyone is losing their minds over this casting choice, you’re in the right place.
Hester Frump Is Here to Shake Things Up
Thanks to Netflix’s behind-the-scenes featurette, we’ve got our first real glimpse at Grandmama Hester — and let’s just say, she’s not your average broomstick-riding, potion-brewing elder. Hester is Morticia’s mother and the powerhouse matriarch behind Frump Mortuaries, one of the most successful outcast-owned businesses in the country. She’s fabulously wealthy, immaculately coiffed (yes, the wigs are everything), and absolutely terrifying in the best way.
According to the series’ co-creator Miles Millar, Hester’s dynamic with Wednesday is a whole new flavor of family dysfunction. “Wednesday and Hester get along great,” he shared. “Other than Fester, her Grandmama is probably Wednesday’s favorite person and the one she feels the most kinship with.” Which means yes, we’re in for some deliciously messy mother-daughter-granddaughter drama — exactly what we ordered.
Her relationship with Morticia? Complicated. Her love for extravagant wigs? Deep. Her emotional availability? Nonexistent. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.
MORE: Wednesday Season 2 First Look Promises More Darkness
Joanna Lumley Is Basically Royalty
If you’re not familiar with Joanna Lumley, prepare to be converted. She’s British entertainment royalty — and she’s bringing all that grandeur to Nevermore. Best known for her iconic role as Patsy Stone in the cult-classic series Absolutely Fabulous, Lumley is the definition of chic chaos. She’s also voiced Aunt Spiker in James and the Giant Peach, and appeared in everything from The Wolf of Wall Street to Paddington 2. Yes, Paddington 2. Icon behavior only.
What makes her casting as Grandmama Hester so perfect is how effortlessly she slips into that razor-sharp, bone-dry wit. In the behind-the-scenes video, Lumley herself teases the role: “I get to wear many, many huge wigs, one on top of the other — and lots of quite constraining clothes, so I love it.”
Honestly, same.
MORE: ‘Wednesday’ 1×08 Review: “A Murder of Woes”
Why We’re Obsessed
Casting Joanna Lumley as Hester Frump is chef’s kiss perfect. She brings a theatricality that matches Wednesday’s gothic flair but with an icy elegance that adds a whole new layer to the Addams family drama. This isn’t just another quirky grandma character — this is a woman who could probably ruin someone with a single look… and have them thank her for it.
We’ve seen Wednesday clash with her mom Morticia before, but this time? Hester might just be the chaotic neutral force that tips the balance. And if she’s truly Wednesday’s favorite family member? Morticia better watch her back.
One thing’s for sure: the wigs will be big, the shade will be sharp, and Hester Frump is about to become everyone’s new favorite Addams.
Wednesday Season 2 Part 1 will premiere on August 6 only on Netflix.
