“Wednesday” ranks as Tim Burton’s surprisingly successful 21st century update on the macabre antics of the ghoulish Addams Family with Jenna Ortega achieving stardom as Goth teenage daughter Wednesday Addams.

As Season 2 launches, naturally enough, on Wednesday, Burton, 66, was asked during a virtual press conference: What surprised him most about shooting in Ireland for S2?

“Those damn leprechauns,” he immediately replied.

“Everywhere,” Ortega, 22, agreed. “Just biting ankles.”

“I had some welts on my ankles from those little creatures,” a straight-faced Burton concluded.

An artist with a pulse on the odd, the offbeat and just plain strange, Burton had for decades been approached about fashioning Charles Addams’ celebrated New Yorker drawings into his sphere. Nothing happened until Netflix came along with “Wednesday.”

“I remember when I read Season 1,” Burton said, “I felt strangely like it was written for me. Even though I’m not a teenage girl (but I feel like one sometimes). It’s just something that really spoke to me.”

Crucial is Ortega. “I loved her take on everything. From family to school to psychiatry to everything! For me, that’s why I wanted to do it – because of the strength of that particular character.”

Ortega’s deadpan demeanor soars with complexity. “It’s her strength and her confidence,” Burton said. “Most oftentimes when people pick apart a character, you have character discussions. ‘What makes them insecure? Shy?’

“And Wednesday just doesn’t have any of that. She’s just so clearly and obviously herself. So, it’s nice to step into those shoes.

“But also, it’s very, very obvious when something isn’t Wednesday. Or doesn’t suit her. It’s almost like she comes with a list of rules, which is a great guideline.

“Anytime I feel lost or confused in a scene, I just go back to those qualities. Or just leave the room.”

“Oh, yeah,” Ortega added. ” ‘Or just leave the room.’ We started doing that where if I didn’t have like a reaction, or something was just too ugly and hideous for Wednesday, I would just walk out of the shot. So, we do that as well.”

In a show with dark, twisted irony and black humor, Burton is often asked about how he aims between adult versus kids audiences.

“I’ve always been confused when people say it’s too light or too dark. Kids will like it that ‘A Nightmare Before Christmas’ is too scary. It’s like a fable or fairy tales — those things remain with people because they incorporate light and dark, humor and drama. And scariness.

“For me, I never think too much about it. Because that’s what life is: A mixture of all those things together.”

Season 2 of “Wednesday” streams on Netflix Aug. 6

Jenna Ortego returns as Wednesday Addams in Season 2 of “Wednesday.” (Photo Netflix)