The streaming wars are largely over, prompting most streamers to hit the brakes on the greenlight free-for-all and produce less TV series in an oversaturate market. Although Netflix is putting out more ongoing series than ever, the media conglomerate is also following the trend of less content with markedly fewer limited series in 2025 than the last few years.
Netflix has seemingly gotten pickier, but the series they have approved are usually memorable in at least some of their elements. ‘Wayward” checks off a lot of boxes. The surreal series has moments that emanate “Twin Peaks” and at other times the show can be reminiscent of “The Breakfast Club”. “Wayward” appeals to multiple generations and has some rich Gen X references scattered throughout, due to it’s 2003 timeframe. Toni Collette’s performance rivals Nicole Kidman in “Nine Perfect Stranger” which will make more sense once we breakdown the twisted plot. Warning, beyond this point there are spoilers for anyone who has not watched the entire Netflix series, “Wayward”.
The surreal series has moments that emanate “Twin Peaks” and at other times the show can be reminiscent of “The Breakfast Club”.
The series starts with a harrowing escape from the Tall Pines school, where the majority of the story takes place. Right from the start, there are strange and eery moments with unexplained lines of monologue randomly being uttered. Following the disorienting opening sequence, we meet two teen besties, Abbie (Sydney Topliffe) and Leila (Alyvia Alan Lind) who like doing drugs and breaking the rules. Leila is troubled at school and it’s quickly revealed a tragedy happened with her sister. Tall Pines, a mysterious therapeutic school, is brought up to. Leila as an option for her future. The promo video for the school is intentionally cringe and does well to tease the ominous school. Abbie and Leila have some more fun before Abbie ends up getting kidnapped out of her bed at night, very early 2000’s talk show style. Abbie’s stricter parents got sick of her drug filled antics and sent her the same place her troubled best friend was being pressured to attend.
It seems like a wild coincidence and strange choice but both girls end up at this fanatical school. After being introduced to the kids, the story switches over to the perspective of trans police officer Alex (Mae Martin) and his pregnant wife Laura (Sarah Gadon), who have just moved into the town of Tall Pines. The actor who plays Alex, Mae Martin, is also the Creator of the series and Co-Showrunner. Martin is a Canadian who has done mostly comedy throughout their career. Their first turn at creating a series was the well reviewed British comedy, “Feel Good”. Although a huge fan of Martin’s story, their acting in a surreal drama mystery does not always carry the most range. Ultimately, their performance doesn’t detract too much form the series as a whole, but also does not add much.
The couple is escaping some skeletons in Alex’s closet back in Detroit, while Laura is alumni from the reform school and has a peculiar relationship with the town in general. Laura also had some type of troubled past, but the love between the two seems sincere and strong. Alex is starting fresh as a small town cop while Laura prepares for the coming baby. Head teacher at Tall Pines Academy, Evelyn (Toni Collette) has a deep history with Laura which is unsettling to Alex and the viewer. Collette shines throughout the series as Evelyn, a very manipulative and controlling character who proves. to have many sides to her. Collette’s performance is one of the strongest in her illustrious career and she only gets better the deeper the mystery into the school and it’s policies unravels.
The premiere does a week thought out job of balancing the 2 teen protagonists with the 2 adult protagonists. By the end of the pilot, both girls are resolved to escape, while Alex is suspicious of the chocolate after hr accidentally kills an escapee from Tall Pines Academy that went after his wife with a knife. The teens at the school all do an amazing job of providing color to the story and sucking the viewer into typical teenage drama where bad things are happening and children are disappearing.
Throughout the series, Evelyn continues to try to increase her power in the town and over every resident, but especially Laura for some reason. This back story between the two leads to Laura being a much more integral character to the story who has her own true darkness. Alex also goes down a dark path and ultimately does things that can never be taken back, even if his acting didn’t reflect it, the gravity of Alex’s bad decisions throughout the series leave the character less redeemable but much more complex than he originally seemed. Laura ultimately turns against Evelyn and starts her own community, both are basically cuts even if there are no religious attachments to what the groups are doing. The kids ultimately are the highlight and one of the best moments is when they take over the school… and ultimately prove they do need to be surprised when one of the teens OD after a few hours.
The ending to the series was also very dark, with certain major characters seemingly dead. It’s possible that Evelyn surveys, but she looked like she was for sure not going to survive her double does of whatever she was using to brainwash the kids. The mystery of the school and what Evelyn is doing to the kids is very complicated and ultimately ends up in multiple gray areas. The town itself is fulled with graduates for the program, but it’s unclear a future without Evelyn drugging kids at school and blackmailing those kids into and through adulthood.
Although the series has been labeled as a miniseries, it is possible that Netflix could change their minds and give the show a season 2. The creator of the shoes Mae Martin spoke with TV insider and had the to say: “I was told it was a miniseries, but there’s definitely more story to tell, I think…We left all those characters in crisis, basically. Hopefully it’s tied up enough that it’s satisfying to watch as a series.” The creator would go on to speak about Evelyn and said that she may be a vegetable but she wasn’t dead and their response made them sound open to waking up Evelyn from her coma in the future. Martin spoke an possible focus for season 2 and said that the story would need to “di deeper” into other staff and students, while exploring the aftermath of the downfall of Evelyn.
What do you think? Will Wayward come back for another season? Will the FBI come in and take over the town? Will Laura’s movement do things right or just different? How will Abbie and Leila handle being separated? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
