Class is back in session at Nevermore Academy—the supernatural outcasts of Netflix’s Wednesday return to school for an even spookier second season. Nigerian-American actress Joy Sunday (Dear White People, Bad Hair) reprises her role as Bianca Barclay, the siren student who is constantly at odds with Jenna Ortega’s chilling Wednesday Addams. “We are definitely raising the stakes,” Sunday opens up, days leading up to the show’s premiere in New York City. “These are two different Biancas with two different ethos towards using their powers in season one compared to the second season, so a lot is called into question for Bianca.”
The 28-year-old actress dials her performance up in her first series regular role as Barclay. Sunday reveres the world-building auteur Tim Burton operates under to actualize the gothic, eerie terrain for Wednesday to become a hit show. Barclay’s mind control powers equips her with the strength to combat against any evil force. Her and Wednesday are two sides of the same coin; misunderstood for their certainty in oneself while the external world may deem them unfit to be leaders with sound moral compasses.
“Tim Burton isn’t a shepherd,” Sunday defines working with the filmmaker who cares as deeply for practical immersive sets as he does for enhanced character performance and unflinching emotion. “He very much gives the materials to build yourself and this being my first time getting to return to a character. It really makes you stand behind the decisions you make.” Sunday leaps into action in every scene, wearing sea-colored eye contacts and a pin-striped Nevermore Academy school uniform. Barclay’s assertive nature and self-assuredness is what rivals Wednesday and the Addams family. A siren who stands her ground to defend herself and her small family.
Burton injects more fear into Wednesday season 2. Divided into two parts, the first four episodes come out Wednesday, August 6, with the other four episodes scheduled for a release date of September 3. Within the very haunted walls of Nevermore Academy, the sophisticated school for freaks is overflowing with undiscovered lore, secret society affairs, and a murderous mystery. Viewers quickly learn Bianca Barclay is essential to what will unfold in the second part of the next season.
Here, Joy Sunday speaks about her parallels with her Wednesday character Bianca Barclay, what she would do if she possessed her psyche powers in real-life, and bonding with the cast on days off in Ireland.
ESSENCE: With the release of Wednesday season 2, Bianca Barclay is so integral to this season, how do you think the stakes have been raised for your character?
Joy Sunday: Nevermore Academy kind of acts as a shield for Bianca in season one. It allows her to be a completely new person and allows her to run away from her past. She is just able to define herself in the way that she sees herself and her future.
What do you resonate most with Bianca?
We certainly aren’t completely unlike each other. I think I’d say that really the biggest storyline for the both of us is that it’s how loyal we are to our loved ones. Bianca definitely finds herself in more of a rock and a hard place when it comes to using her ability to affect positive change in the lives of those around her. Bianca and I love the IT girl. Not saying that we are the IT girl, but we both love the IT girl.
This season is way more spooky and eerie compared to the last, how does raising the horror aspect make season 2 more compelling to you as a fan and character?
It has been really fun getting to watch this season because it really is darker and more intriguing. It’s not as sweet and it really is like a nice lemonade. It’s a little tart. I guess that increases the joy that I have when I’m watching it just because I look at how the world’s taking a turn and it’s kind of nice to see it reflected in the show in that way.
When filming in Ireland compared to Romania in S1 for long periods of time, what have you learned about the culture and history there and how that kind of connects with the cinematic landscape of Wednesday?
Ireland is a beautiful landscape and backdrop for Wednesday. It’s so green and lush but also classic. It has its gothic moments. It’s a country that’s really passionate about human rights. Wednesday is very stone-faced and seemingly indifferent; she wants to be on the right side and she wants to advocate for people. Ireland, funnily enough, does a lot of that. It shows in the crews and even the bits of cast that joined us. They have such a wonderful community.
Bianca’s powers of persuasion get her in more conflict than resolution this season at Nevermore, how do you think her supernatural capabilities can be used for doing good?
She could probably walk up to all the world leaders and be like: “Stop.” That would be the way that I’d use it. Solve world hunger and starvation and famines and genocides.
What was your most memorable day of filming the second season?
Well, at least for this part, the camp episode. It was very much treated like a horror camp. There were a lot of the best bloopers of the season that were happening there. We were all together and we really got a chance to really be in the same room.
How do you bond with the cast on off-days?
This time around we really got creative. Lots of card games on and off set. We would go to parks and hang. Some of our cast members were making music together and then we would go to museums. We kept busy visiting places around Ireland because we ended up in these kinds of random places like Bucharest and Dublin. We very much have to make our cast our community there. This cast has been really skilled at that, and it’s allowing us to kind of broaden our world every time we return.
What should we anticipate for Bianca and Wednesday in the second part of season 2?
We’re really going to see her growth in terms of her maturity. She thought being mature was putting on a face and hiding behind a veil by not needing anyone. I think she comes to realize that is childish.