Sometimes, the scariest stories are the one that feel the most credible and real – whether that goes for outright horror movies or the arguably bigger genre of thrillers that can sometimes verge into scary stuff. I don't know that Netflix's upcoming series Wayward will be out-and-out terrifying, but its subject matter certainly suggests that it'll have that potential.
Wayward is going to focus on an under-reported industry in the US: teenage correctional schools. Some of these schools advertise themselves as severe institutions, but many of them instead pretend to be welcoming and nurturing places that will just so happen to turn your teen's life and attitudes around. The show just got a sneak peek from Netflix, and it's as creepy as that sounds.
It's been created, written and directed by comedy star Mae Martin, who says that the show will aim to tell a chilling story, but I'd expect some comic notes from them, too. Co-stars include some big names, like Toni Collette, who features in the sneak peek as the head of Tall Pines Academy, one of these schools. The trailer also shows us Patrick J. Adams, a very well-known face to fans of Suits who actually hasn't been in that many other high-profile projects.
Netflix will hope that the show can find the same cavalcade of fans that Suits did once added to its service, and Wayward is being talked about in terms of a first season, rather than a limited series. That means the window sounds like it's still open to more seasons if it finds success when it comes out later in 2025.
If you're wondering why I haven't mentioned a more precise date for the show's premiere, it's because we don't have one. We generally don't get this sort of sneak peek from Netflix without knowing when a show will drop, but it did a huge preview of things coming in 2025 recently, and Wayward was one of the many.
Still, it looks like a pointedly relevant show for the times we're living in – conversion therapy still hasn't properly gone away, and access to healthcare for some teens in the US is becoming more and more challenging under the new presidency. So, it's great to see Netflix is commissioning this sort of content, and a show that might move the needle at least a little in terms of how parents think about and advocate for their children, even when they seem distant.
That's all a bit speculative for now, of course – we'll have to wait for a proper trailer to see more of what Wayward is all about.
