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Wayward is the title you must hold your eyes on most of all when wanting on the line-up of everything new on Netflix in September 2025. Dropped at us by Feel Good creator and comedian Mae Martin, they’ve even bagged Toni Collette for her most explosive horror position since Ari Aster’s Hereditary in 2022.
However that is simply scratching the floor of why Wayward is so good. The brand new Netflix sequence tells the story of the small city of Tall Pines, Vermont, which is residence to a college of delinquent teenagers that get shipped off to review underneath the watchful eye of Evelyn Wade (Collette). Leila (Alyvia Alyn Lind) and Abbie (Sydney Topliffe) are two teenagers caught up within the college’s mysteries, alongside cop Alex (Martin) and spouse Laura (Sarah Gadon), who return to Laura’s residence city to cool down earlier than the start of their new child.
Their two points of view converge over the course of the eight-episode run, giving us a multi-dimensional look at what it means to be a brainwashed youth incarcerated against your will. The town’s decisions (and I won’t spoil what these are) aim to rebuild Tall Pines from the ground up, but instead break down and fracture every part of its infrastructure. Not that this seems to matter, though as Evelyn’s got her metaphorical hooks into almost everyone around her.
Between Alex, Abbie and Leila, it’s up to them to get to the bottom of what’s actually going on in Tall Pines. As a result, we’re taken on a journey that resembles something between Twin Peaks and Stranger Things, and boy, is the end result satisfying.
Of course Netflix’s Wayward is brilliant, Mae Martin created it
Viewers ought to have identified Wayward could be an immediate addition to their watchlist the minute it was clear the sequence was coming from Mae Martin. Really feel Good continues to be thought to be one of many biggest comedy-dramas to return out of the final decade, and never simply by me. Despite the fact that veering into sci-fi supernatural territory is not an anticipated route for Martin, it virtually does not matter.
Why? Good TV comes from getting the fundamentals proper: we’re speaking construction, characters, setting, in addition to peaks and pits to carry the audiences consideration. It is Martin’s craft that is all the time elevated something they have been part of, although their character Alex might be seen as one other extension of their very own character. However we’re rooting for Alex each step of the best way, and that paves the best way for some easy LGBTQIA+ illustration.
As an alternative of overtly stating that Martin’s character is a trans man, the ensemble use he/him pronouns with out hesitation, and after they fumble it feels genuine, reasonably than clumsily wedging inclusion in to tick a range field. It is extremely refreshing and makes us purchase into Alex’s private experiences on a a lot deeper degree. Should you’re on the lookout for somebody extra shouty about their sexuality, Leila is your lady, together with her blossoming bisexuality proudly worn as solely a naive teenager can.
Then there’s Toni Collette. As one of the vital gifted actors that appears to be repeatedly unappreciated (particularly by the Academy Awards), I hope viewers will tune in merely to see her shine (although I already know they’ll). She raises the sport of all the things and everybody round her when she indicators onto the mission, and there is not any doubt that Wayward is what it’s due to her. It is Evelyn’s world and we’re simply residing in it, making even probably the most skin-crawling of scenes pleasing.
Stick with Wayward after episode 1 – I promise the payoff is worth it
For the most part, Wayward is well structured, holds its intrigue and has enough mystery wrapped in suspense to sustain us for the rest of the year. I’m a biased fan of anything to do with sketchy communes, strange towns and schools for dysfunctional children, but its subject matter is incredibly compelling even for the uninitiated. I should have felt as though I’d seen this play out 1000 times over (and better), but I came away from Wayward with a fresh perspective.
That said, there are a few minor downsides. With such a strange ensemble cast of characters in Tall Pines, not all of them get their backstories explained outright, particularly those relating to Laura’s past. Laura’s own journey has an ironic symbiosis with Evelyn’s and it would have been helpful to see more of how she actually functioned in her alma mater.
Looking back, episode 1 was the biggest stumbling block, and that’s not helpful when it’s the make-or-break point of a viewer deciding if they’ll stick or split to something else in Netflix’s expansive back catalog. It’s worth point out that all events that occur in Wayward are happening in 2003 rather than being split across different points in time, with it initially unclear how Abbie and Leila’s story will cross paths with Alex and Laura’s. It gets there pretty quickly after in episode 2, but the first 40 minutes require a bit of patience and push-through.
But these are small prices to pay for an ultimately satisfying and well-rounded eight-parter. Touching on themes of identity, motherhood, loss, community and trust, anybody who loves unpicking the crux of a story will be fed well-timed mouthfuls at every turn. There’s an interesting feeling of pride that comes with working out the subtext of something, and that’s a uniquely enjoyable experience in Wayward. Tall Pines has a lot of its own lore, both directly through the phases of the school, and hidden in plain sight among its residents.
If you want my advice: invest your time, trust nobody, and hope to God that you don’t get selected for The Leap.