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Wayward, Mae Martin’s Genre-Bending Thriller on the Troubled-Teen Industry, Debuts on Netflix

Critics hail Toni Collette’s chilling turn rooted in Mae Martin’s years of research into coercive teen programs.

Overview

  • All eight episodes are now streaming on Netflix following an early September premiere at TIFF.
  • Martin stars as Alex Dempsey, a trans police officer drawn into the secrets of Tall Pines and its academy run by Toni Collette’s Evelyn.
  • Early reviews praise Collette and the show’s cultish, darkly comic tone, with comparisons to Twin Peaks, Midsommar and Rosemary’s Baby.
  • Martin conceived the series from a close friend’s experience and long-term research, and the drama depicts coercive methods associated with real-world programs.
  • The ending is deliberately ambiguous, with the creative team emphasizing that key outcomes are left open to interpretation.