Overview

• The eight-episode drama premiered Sept. 25 and quickly reached No. 2 on Netflix’s TV chart, according to multiple outlets.
• Mae Martin stars alongside Toni Collette in a story centered on a fictional institution that exposes coercive “treatment” and communal control.
• The series is not a true story but draws from Martin’s teen years, a consultant friend who was institutionalized, and writers with lived experience.
• Research into the real troubled‑teen industry and 1970s group Synanon helped shape its portrayal of confrontational practices and systemic harms.
• Post-release coverage cites standout performances, normalized trans representation, and a deliberately ambiguous ending, with Netflix listing the show as a limited series and no second season confirmed.