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That book you tried to avoid reading in high school? It’s now a hugely successful, and fairly loyal, BBC miniseries – succeeding because brutal times invite brutal stories, or perhaps because we like to see kids go wild.
And the children are, indeed, absolutely crucial to the series and to William Golding’s original novel: the book version of Lord of the Flies It is perhaps better known than read because of its relatively straightforward description of how quickly humans will evolve once the strictures of society are removed. We know that story, and we can imagine its echoes in the news every day, but Golding’s arrogance in letting him play with a bunch of kids still seems shocking.
Many of the shows below were directly inspired by Goulding’s novel, whether they all centered on older teenagers or adults. Check out the new adaptation of Lord of the Flies On NetflixAnd then consider these other shows about closed societies in extremes.
Yellowjackets (2021 – )
This time-hopping survival drama is about a group of teenage girls who are stranded in the wilderness in 1996 and Terrible Things to survive – the extent of which we learn only through flashbacks from the present day, where the events of the 19 months spent in the wild continue to reverberate. There are faint teases of the supernatural here, but human-level horror abounds as well. The show plays in some of the same territories Lord of the Flies It also cynically (but accurately) points out when we’re in survival mode exploring the nasties, when there’s a huge gap between the version of the past we’re told and what actually happened. flow Yellowjackets on Paramount+.
The Wilds (2020 – 2022)
Positioned between flashbacks and flash-forwards (not exactly opposites Yellowjackets), mystery/thriller The Wilds A plane full of teenage girls crashes en route to an empowerment program in Hawaii. It quickly becomes clear that the accident was engineered and that the whole thing is some kind of social experiment, and the survivors are forced to compete against each other if they want to survive. The show understands the way in which girls are exploited and expected to compete against each other in the real world, making it clear that Lord of the Flies A scenario with women at its center won’t fare much better, even if it turns out differently. flow The Wilds on Prime Video.
lost (2004 – 2010)
If William Golding’s Lord of the Flies A small belly and nose can be seen, this latter day plane crash story goes full on mystery and philosophy. We begin with a flashback that peels back the layers of various crash survivors before diving into warm-weather polar bears and mysterious underground bunkers and smoke-filled monsters. Whether it’s an exceptionally smart network show that rewards careful viewing or a load of nonsense in the eye of the beholder—it’s one of the most talked about and talked about shows in TV history. flow lost on Disney+ And Hulu.
Society (2019)
Kathryn Newton leads this surprisingly smart Goulding riff about a group of teenagers forced to form their own community when all the adults disappear and a dense new forest grows around their small enclave, cutting them off from everything and everyone. This is less a show about the laws of the jungle than one about coming of age in a world where normal rules no longer apply. flow Society On Netflix.
This 100 (2014 – 2020)
On seven seasons, The CW’s YA This 100 tells the story of the descendants of refugees from a nuclear holocaust, who return to Earth from their habitat in space to confront the remnants of humanity that have survived on Earth. Naturally, the first people sent to sort things out are juvenile delinquents (better them than me), and they discover that three civilizations have risen after the apocalypse, and they’re all pretty scary (one with a cannibal population, naturally). More humane, perhaps, than Lord of the Flies, Even though it explores similar themes, the show builds an impressive mythology over the course of its run, leading to a conclusion that is borderline metaphysical. buy This 100 From Prime Video.
What do you think so far?
Decameron (2024)
Loosely adapted with allusions to Giovanni Boccaccio’s 14th-century collection of tales. Bridgerton-Esquagger, this version takes us to plague-ravaged Florence, as a horde of nobles and attendants traverse a dangerous landscape to hole up in country villas and await the end while draining the liquor supply—as you will. Rules and social mores are overturned, especially by the servant Lysiska (Tanya Reynolds), who accidentally kills her lady on the way to the villa, and then decides to take her place. No one is stranded here on the island (and apparently planes haven’t been invented yet), but there’s still a strong sense that, if we break away from society’s rules, our most cherished values will turn to dust very quickly. flow Decameron On Netflix.
The 8 shows (2024)
If you want to see people at their worst, you don’t have to be stranded on a desert island – just turn on the TV. In general, South Korean TV shows and movies are ahead of the curve when it comes to addressing the exploitative nature of late-stage capitalism, and this show fits right in with their likes. Squid game. Eight strangers are chosen to participate in a game in which they are locked together in a building and placed on different floors each night. They earn money for every minute they run, but all their provisions must be bought with the money they win and at an extreme markup. At first, competitors pool their resources so that everyone gets more money—until they realize that people on higher floors are getting more money. Then things get nasty. flow The 8 shows on Netflix.
And then there were none (2015)
Your first instinct may be to dismiss the idea that Agatha Christie has anything to do with the adaptation. Lord of the FliesAlso one where a bunch of people are stranded on an island. It’s more than that, though: Christie absolutely delights in putting her (often posh) characters under pressure until they pop, her polite conversation at afternoon tea concealing a nasty instinct lurking beneath the surface. And in that vein, And then there were none Perhaps her worst (admirable) portrait is of people rewriting once-cherished rules when forced. Eight strangers arrive on the fictional, completely isolated Soldier Island, off the coast of Devon, brought together under various strange pretexts. At a tense dinner, they are presented with a gramophone recording that explains that each of them is responsible for the death, and that each must face justice in turn. Dunn Dunn. flow And then there were none on Acorn TV.
All of Us Dead (2022 – )
in All of Us DeadHigh school becomes hell, almost literally, when a viral outbreak causes Hyosan School to become ground zero for a strange plague. The teenage students soon realize that they have been cut off from the rest of the town, and help is not forthcoming. Nihilism is not uncommon in zombie fiction, nor are themes involving the breakdown of social structures. Also All of Us Dead Explores the world of a cloistered high school under constant threat as a parallel to our own: class and background continue to be potent forces even (or especially) amid the trauma of assault, and arbitrary social hierarchies are reinforced under constant trauma. The closed school setting is brilliantly used, and there’s some suitably soapy drama too. flow All of Us Dead On Netflix.
This trapped (2019)
At first glance a little more grounded than some of the shows here, This trapped Takes place on a Thai island in the midst of a tsunami. The island was formerly home to a prestigious high school, and a group of students returned for an inappropriate party on the last day of class. A bad idea, obviously, after the storm hit. Kram (Papangkorn Lerkchalampot), one of the few students who actually lives on the island, is stranded there along with two dozen classmates. Kram knows the island, but Anan (Chutavuth Pattarkampol) takes the lead while the other students either take on the required roles or fall in line. As the miniseries progresses, the new political order crumbles as the island’s secrets reveal themselves. flow This trapped On Netflix.
