Netflix just dropped a dark psychological thriller series that will keep you guessing until the very end
Netflix’s ‘Wayward’ is twisted in all the right ways

After a long day of travel, I settled down into my cramped Airbnb apartment to watch the first episode of “Wayward,” Netflix’s new psychological thriller series. I planned to stream only a single episode before getting some much-needed sleep. More than two hours later, I’d binged the opening three chapters, and it was only my partner's insistence that I turn my laptop off and go to sleep that stopped me from hitting “play next episode” on the fourth.
That’s perhaps the biggest compliment I can give “Wayward.” This new Netflix original series borders on addictive. Each 40-minute episode is perfectly set up for binge-watching. The central mystery deepens with each twist, its cast of compelling characters becomes increasingly more intriguing, and there are plenty of cliffhanger endings that will have you shunning sleep or your other responsibilities in favor of seeing what happens next.
And I’ve not even touched on the chilling performance from Toni Collette as the overseer of a “troubled teen” academy, which appears to be doing more harm than help to those unfortunate enough to be locked up within its walls. “Wayward” is a Netflix series that you won’t soon forget, and even if its narrative setup is within a comfortable genre framework, it’s so compelling that you’re likely to tear through the eight-episode run in just a few sittings.
What is ‘Wayward’ about?
Police officer Alex Dempsey (Mae Martin, also creator and co-showrunner) has recently moved to the small town of Tall Pines with his pregnant wife, Laura (Sarah Godon), who is a native of the area, making the move a homecoming for the latter. Almost immediately, Alex senses something off about the picture-perfect location, and his concerns only increase when he becomes involved in the search for an escapee from Tall Pines Academy.
The academy is run by Evelyn Wade (Toni Collette) and is pitched as a place for “troubled teens” to have their unruly behavior corrected. However, underneath the friendly promotional brochure, which promises to transform antisocial youths into upstanding citizens, the academy is housing dark secrets and deploys sinister and even abusive therapeutic methods.
As Alex begins to investigate the academy and its shadowy history, he comes into contact with two recent enrollments, best friends Abbie (Sydney Topliffe) and Leila (Alyvia Alyn Lind), who are hatching an escape plan. But Evelyn also has a twisted plan of her own at play.
Should you stream ‘Wayward’ on Netflix?
“Wayward” wastes no time reeling you in. The very first scene explodes into life as an unnamed person sprints across a grassy field before hopping a chain-link fence, badly cutting their hands in the process, and all the while, flashlight beams hunt them down and alarms blare in the background. It’s a strong start and aptly sets the sinister tone. Fortunately, things remain equally compelling across the rest of the show’s eight-episode run.
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Most of the season is spent flipping between Alex’s attempts to adjust to life in the small town of Small Pines and his attempts to research more about the academy, even as various forces discourage him from pursuing his snooping, and the experience of Abbie and Leila within the school for “troubled teens” run by Evelyn, who seems to be almost all-knowing.
It’s a conventional setup that allows viewers to learn more about the academy’s day-to-day operations through Abbie and Leila while simultaneously uncovering its dark history and the vice-like grip Evelyn has on the town via Alex. These two main narrative arcs overlap pretty frequently, and each adds to the central mystery at the very heart of “Wayward.”
Beyond its many mysteries, “Wayward” can get pretty uncomfortable at times. A “therapy” scene where the academy’s counselors encourage the pupils to share “truths” with each other, which really amount to little more than cruel insults, is pretty disturbing. And it’s far from the worst thing happening behind the locked doors of Tall Pines Academy.
Mae Martin, who is known primarily for their comedic work, is fantastic as Alex. Arriving with his pregnant wife to escape a mistake in his past, Tall Pines is supposed to represent a fresh start and the perfect place to begin their family, but the woodland setting soon becomes anything but an idyllic community. And the amount that Laura herself knows (or doesn’t know) about Tall Pines' sinister underbelly makes for particularly fertile soil for Martin to mine for both mystery and some strong emotional beats.
The happenings within the academy bring a surprising dash of dark comedy to the table. It turns out that when you lock a bunch of “troubled teens” in a facility together, the results can be darkly funny. The academy employs a tiered hierarchy among pupils, and the scene that explains this system is uneasy but also played for laughs thanks to the work of Isolde Ardies as Stacey, a resident of the academy who is very proud to have risen to the “Ascend Phase”. Things get even more farcical when our protagonists meet a fellow pupil who can apparently obtain just about anything, so long as you pay her in oatmeal packets.
Overall, the young performances aren’t quite up to the same standard as the adult cast, but I did really enjoy Alyn Lind’s Leile, a high schooler with a snarky reply for all situations and a disdain for authority. The biggest disappointment is that Toni Collette is used so sparingly. What we get is predictably excellent from Collette, but I wish she had more screentime.
“Wayward’s” pacing is also fantastic. The slightly shorter 40-minute episodes, compared to the hour-long chapters that have become fairly standard for streaming dramas, fly by, and make the show easy to consume in just a couple of sittings. It also helps that every chapter adds to the overall picture, and each sprinkles in new twists and turns to keep you hooked.
I’m not the only one who believes Netflix has a hit on its hands with “Wayward.” At the time of writing, the show holds a 76% score on Rotten Tomatoes. And while reviews are still filtering in, many of the early write-ups echo my own thoughts on the gripping thriller, praising everything from the performances (Collette’s in particular) to the abundance of neat twists.
Mashable's Kristy Puchko said, “Don't hit play on ‘Wayward’ unless you're ready to surrender yourself to 8 hours of this sensational series. Like the town at its center, it's hard to walk away from." Meanwhile, Helen Coffey of the Independent said, "Unlike plenty of the glossy-looking but thin thrillers so frequently served up by the streamers at present, Wayward offers something far more odd and entertaining."
If you’re looking for a Netflix mini-series that will have you hooked from start to finish, and can be polished off pretty easily across a single weekend, then “Wayward” deserves to be at the very top of your watchlist. Want more options? Why not try the streamer’s new crime drama from the creator of “Peaky Blinders,” “House of Guinness.” Alternatively, if you want to consider all your options, here’s a guide to everything new on Netflix this month.
Watch "Wayward" on Netflix now
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Rory is a Senior Entertainment Editor at Tom’s Guide based in the UK. He covers a wide range of topics but with a particular focus on gaming and streaming. When he’s not reviewing the latest games, searching for hidden gems on Netflix, or writing hot takes on new gaming hardware, TV shows and movies, he can be found attending music festivals and getting far too emotionally invested in his favorite football team.
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