The Addams Family first appeared in a comic strip penned by Charles Addams. The strip ran in the New Yorker from 1938 to Addams' death in 1988. The macabre family's peculiar life was captured in Addams' illustrations. Readers were tickled by not only the humor but also the family's closeness even when off-setted by surprised "normies." Their popularity brought them to the small screen in the mid-1960s where their personalities were fleshed out and names were established; Gomez, Morticia, Wednesday, Pugsley, Grandmama, Lurch, and Thing.
Since then, they've appeared in more TV shows, made their way to the big screen multiple times, and reached the stages of Broadway. These iterations have varied in reception but most have been well-received. This list's "worst" comprised of those rated least compared to the other properties, but don't necessarily mean they were poor.
Best: The Addams Family 1973 (6.8)
Following their appearance in The New Scooby-Doo Movies, the Addams Family got their own animated series from Hanna-Barbera. Jackie Coogan, Ken Weatherwax, and Ted Cassidy returned to voice their characters from the live-action sitcom while the others were replaced with new actors. The cartoon was short-lived and only lasted sixteen episodes. Viewers were fond of the characters designs being reminiscent of their comic strip days. They also enjoyed the humor and felt the characters were true to their original counterparts. However, others felt the animation was cheap and the plotlines boring.
Worst: Addams Family Values 1993 (6.7)
While it's one of the lowest-rated iterations on the site, doesn't mean it wasn't decent. Addams Family Values welcomed a new addition to the family and Uncle Fester found love with a black widow. While some viewers complained that the story was hit or miss the response was generally positive. Audiences praised the cast's impeccable performances especially Joan Cusack as the film's villainess, the subversive tone, and Wednesday's summer camp subplot. This film was also Raul Julia's appearance as Gomez having passed away a year following the sequel's release.
Best: The Addams Family 1991 (6.9)
The first live-action Addams Family movie. Barry Sonnenfeld and his team pulled off a cynically-delightful film that captured the charm of the original series and cast the perfect actors to portray these iconic characters, Raul Julia and Anjelica Huston were especially lauded for their quirky and sensual performances as Gomez and Morticia. However, some viewers weren't satisfied with Fester's storyline and felt it could've been changed or left out of the movie. Additionally, they felt the movie's villain was forgettable which the sequel improved upon. The Horror Hall of Fame awarded the film Best Horror Film of the Year in 1991.
Worst: The New Addams Family 1998-1999 (6.2)
This series was released in the same year as Addams Family Reunion and only lasted one season. Nicole Fugere returned from Reunion to portray Wednesday.
The series paid homage to the original by recycling storylines, gags and even had John Astin involved as playing Grandpapa Addams. While the show was better received than Reunion it didn't capture the same finesse and likability of the original series. And some wished Tim Curry had stayed on to portray Gomez again.
Best: The Addams Family 1992-1993 (7.1)
A year following the release of Barry Sonnenfeld's movie came another animated series. John Astin returned to play Gomez while the series welcomed Nancy Linari (Morticia), Debi Derryberry (Wednesday), Jeannine Elias (Pugsley), Jim Cummings (Lurch), Carol Channing (Grandmama) and Rip Taylor (Uncle Fester) to the cast. The show ran for two seasons and had a following of fans. Viewers adored the show for Morticia and Gomez's insatiable chemistry, the entertaining side characters, and memorable rendition of the theme song.
Worst: Halloween With The New Addams Family 1977 (6.2)
Released eleven years following the end of the original series. The main cast returned to portray their respective characters. The special focused on the family preparing for the Halloween season in their own Addams way. The special was under the guise to see if viewer ratings warranted a revival series but nothing came out of it. While viewers were happy to see the original cast again they felt the special was tiresome and didn't offer anything new besides the characters being aged up.
Best: New Scooby-Doo Movies 'Wednesday Is Missing' 1972 (7.9)
During the seventies, Scooby-Doo's latest iteration featured the gang solving mysteries along with celebrity guest stars. This was the family's first animated appearance and it was one of the most highly anticipated cross-overs of the day. Fans were psyched to see Scooby-Doo and the Addams Family's worlds collide.
They felt the special was everything they could've imagined with these two entities interacting. The main adults from the original series returned to voice their characters with the exceptions of Pugsley and Wednesday's actors.
Worst: The Addams Family 2019 (5.8)
The first CGI animated Addams Family movie. The Addams Family was simultaneously a retelling of the Addams Family origins and the Addams coming face to face with waspy suburban America. Viewers who'd been advocating Oscar Issac to portray Gomez were satisfied with his performance and enjoyed seeing all the homages the film paid to the original series and comic strip. However, others felt some of the other characters were miscast, the jokes were dead on arrival, puns were lacking and the movie played off like any other generic animated feature.
Best: The Addams Family 1964-1966 (7.9)
The show would go down in history as one of the best TV sitcoms. Charles Addams was directly involved with the making of the series. The production designer took inspiration from Addam's New York apartment for the show's home. The charismatic John Astin and vivacious Carolyn Jones portrayed Gomez and Morticia while the gifted Jackie Coogan (Uncle Fester), Lisa Loring (Wednesday), Ken Weatherwax (Pugsley), Blossom Rock (Grandmama) and Ted Cassidy (Lurch) portrayed the other leads. Viewers fondly reminisce about the fun characters, unforgettable theme song, Gomez and Morticia's chemistry, and grim humor.
Worst: Addams Family Reunion 1998 (3.9)
This TV movie featured the talents of Tim Curry and Darryl Hannah as Gomez and Morticia. While Carel Struycken and Christoper Hart continued their roles as Lurch and Thing from Barry Sonnenfeld's movies. In this incarnation, the Addams searched for their other relatives. Audiences were mostly dismissive of the film. They felt the special effects and production quality came off as cheap and uninspired they also shared the same sentiments about the script and majority of the acting. However, one of the few praises was Curry's portrayal as Gomez. It's said director David Payne had different intentions for the feature but was dismissed by the film's producer Saban who wanted it to be more like Sonnenfeld's movies.