Netflix's 'genre-bending' 8-part thriller Wayward looks seriously creepy


Mae Martin creates and stars in Wayward


two people standing by table outdoors© MICHAEL GIBSON/Netflix
Nicky MorrisActing TV and Film Editor
August 1, 2025
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Thriller fans, listen up! A new, eight-part series is on its way to Netflix – and it sounds seriously creepy. 

Canadian comedian Mae Martin creates and stars in the series, titled Wayward, a "genre-bending show" set in the bucolic town of Tall Pines, where "sinister secrets lurk behind every closed door". 

The show is billed as a "thrilling" series about the "eternal struggle between one generation and the next, what happens when friendship and loyalty are put to the ultimate test, and how buried truths always find a way of coming to the surface".

HELLO's Senior Online Reporter and Editor of the pop culture website, Small Screen, Edward Lauder, said: "This new 'genre-bending' thriller on Netflix starring the brilliant Toni Collette and the wonderful Mae Martin has been on my must-watch new shows of 2025 list for quite some time. It sounds creepy, eerie, macabre and also, kind of funny. That sounds like the kind of show I’d want to watch. Maybe it was made just for me? No, that can’t be possible… or can it…?"

WATCH: The trailer for Wayward

Intrigued? Here's all you need to know about the show. 

What is Wayward about?

Set in the picture-perfect town of Tall Pines, the series centres around Abbie and Lelia, two students at a local school for troubled teens, and newcomer to the town, police officer Alex Dempsey.

After a series of unusual events, Alex starts to investigate and suspects the school's mysterious leader could be at the centre of all the town's problems. 

© MICHAEL GIBSON/Netflix
Mae Martin creates and stars as Alex Dempsey in Wayward

The full synopsis reads: "In the picture-perfect town of Tall Pines, sinister secrets lurk behind every closed door. Not long after police officer Alex Dempsey (Mae Martin) and his pregnant wife Laura (Sarah Gadon) move into their new home, he connects with two students Abbie (Sydney Topliffe) and Leila (Alyvia Alyn Lind) from the local school for “troubled teens” who are desperate to escape and could be the key to unearthing everything rotten in the town. 

"As Alex begins investigating a series of unusual incidents, he suspects that Evelyn (Toni Collette), the school’s mysterious leader, might be at the centre of all the problems. Created by Mae Martin, Wayward is a thrilling and genre-bending limited series about the eternal struggle between one generation and the next, what happens when friendship and loyalty are put to the ultimate test, and how buried truths always find a way of coming to the surface."

© Courtesy of Netflix/Netflix
Sydney Topliffe as Abbie and Alyvia Alyn Lind as Leila

Who stars in Wayward? 

Mae Martin, known for her stand-up comedy as well as her Netflix comedy-drama Feel Good, stars as Alex Dempsey.

Meanwhile, Toni Collette (Hereditary, Mickey 17) plays school leader Evelyn Wade, alongside Sarah Gadon (True Detective) as Laura Redman, Sydney Topliffe (Murdoch Mysteries) as Abbie, Alyvia Alyn Lind (Daybreak) as Leila, Patrick J. Adams (Suits) as Wyatt Turner, Tattiawna Jones (Murderbot) as Rabbit and Brandon Jay McLaren (Ransom) as Dwyane Andrews. 

© Courtesy of Netflix/Netflix
Toni Collette plays Evelyn Wade

Other cast members include Isolde Ardies, Joshua Close, Patrick Gallagher, Gage Munroe and Byron Mann.

When will Wayward be released?

The limited series comes to Netflix on September 25.

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