The Midlife

11/10

Dear readers! Once again, I assure you: I do more than watch TV. However, I devoured the newly released Wayward on Netflix. Believe the hype: this limited series, starring its creator Mae Martin will not disappoint. It combines a teen version of Survivor, mixed with Yellowjackets and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest vibes.

The story begins in Canada, following Leila and Abbie, two best friends with very different home lives, exploring the experimental teen rites of passage (partying, cheating, and school misbehaving). Under different circumstances, they end up at Tall Pines Academy, a reform school in the rural Tall Pines in Vermont. Head counselor, Evelyn, is played by the superbly phenomenal Toni Collette, whom I have loved since Muriel’s Wedding. She leads with fear among her staff who follow her every directive in a cult-like trance to solve “the problem of adolescence.”

Meanwhile, new to Tall Pines are Alex (played by the impressive Mae Martin), who transfers to Tall Pines as a deputy cop with his pregnant wife Laura, a former Tall Pines Academy graduate. They come there in hopes of starting over, as each has their own past to unravel.

I don’t want to share more than this except to say that every actor (from veteran Collette to newcomer Martin and ALL of the young adult actors) is perfectly cast and truly talented. And I do mean every character—from the leads to the truly unlikable—shines.

Wayward is deep, smart, with great storytelling, some wit, some eroticism, inclusive, and unforgettable. It will have you rethinking what it means not only to thrive in young adulthood but to survive. It will have you questioning what it means to put your faith in grown-ups who are supposed to protect.

Please let me know what you think.