10 Netflix Series Like Lord of the Flies You Should Watch Next Time
That book you tried not to read in high school? Now it’s been made into a rather successful and fairly faithful BBC miniseries—the success of which can be explained either by the fact that violent times breed violent plots, or simply because we enjoy watching kids having a blast.
And children, indeed, play a crucial role in both the series and William Golding’s original novel: the book version of Lord of the Flies is perhaps better known than read, thanks to its relatively straightforward narrative of how quickly humanity degenerates once society’s constraints are lifted. We know the story, and we can imagine echoes of it in the news every day, but Golding’s idea of allowing it to unfold through a group of children still feels shocking.
Many of the series listed below were directly inspired by Golding’s novel, even if they focus on older teenagers or adults.Check out the new Lord of the Flies adaptation on Netflix , and then check out other series about insular societies in extreme environments.
Yellow Wasps (2021 – )
This time-traveling survival drama follows a group of teenage girls stranded in the wilderness in 1996, committing horrific acts to survive—the extent of which is only revealed through flashbacks to the present, where the events of their 19 months in the wilderness continue to resonate. There are subtle hints of the supernatural, but also plenty of human horrors. The series touches on some themes similar to Lord of the Flies, exploring the vile acts we commit in survival mode while also cynically (but accurately) arguing that there’s a vast difference between the version of the past we talk about and the one that actually happened. Watch Yellow Wasps on Paramount+ .
Wildlife (2020–2022)
The mystical thriller ” Wildlands” unfolds between flashbacks and flashforwards (very reminiscent of “Yellow Wasps “), as a plane carrying teenage girls crashes en route to an empowerment program in Hawaii. It quickly becomes clear that the crash was staged and that the whole thing is a kind of social experiment, with the survivors forced to compete against each other if they want to survive. The series explores how young women are exploited and forced to compete in the real world, clearly demonstrating that a “Lord of the Flies” scenario with women at the center wouldn’t fare any better, even if things had unfolded differently. Watch “Wildlands” on Prime Video.
Lost (2004–2010)
While William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” might be considered a rather banal and straightforward work, this modern tale of a plane crash delves deeply into mystery and philosophy. It begins with flashbacks that reveal the survivors’ personalities before we’re plunged headlong into a world of warm-climate polar bears, mysterious underground bunkers, and smoke monsters. Whether it’s a remarkably intelligent series that rewards attentive viewing or utter nonsense is up to each individual to decide, but it remains one of the most talked about and controversial series in television history. Watch “Lost” on Disney+ and Hulu .
Society (2019)
Kathryn Newton stars in Golding’s wonderfully witty series about a group of teenagers forced to create their own community after all the adults disappear and a dense new forest grows around their small settlement, cutting them off from everything and everyone else. It’s less about the law of the jungle than about growing up in a world where normal rules no longer apply.Watch The Society on Netflix .
100 (2014–2020)
The CW’s seven-season series The 100 is the most deeply explored apocalypse on television. It tells the story of the descendants of refugees who survived a nuclear holocaust who return to Earth from space and encounter the remnants of humanity that survived. Naturally, the first people sent to investigate are juvenile delinquents (better them than me), and they discover that three civilizations have emerged from the apocalypse, all of them quite terrifying (including one populated by cannibals, of course). Perhaps more humane than Lord of the Flies, even while exploring similar themes, the series creates a compelling mythology throughout its run, leading to a conclusion that borders on the metaphysical. Buy The 100 on Prime Video .
The Decameron (2024)
This loose adaptation of Giovanni Boccaccio’s 14th-century short story collection, with a touch of Bridgerton-esque bravado, takes us to Florence devastated by the plague. A group of nobles and servants make their way through dangerous terrain to a country villa to wait out the end of the world, drinking every ounce of alcohol in the process—as you’d expect. Rules and societal norms are upended, especially by the maid Licisca (Tanya Reynolds), who accidentally kills her mistress on her way to the villa and then decides to take her place. No one is stranded on an island here (and apparently airplanes hadn’t been invented yet), yet there’s a powerful sense that no matter how cut off from society’s rules, our most cherished values will quickly crumble to nothing.Watch The Decameron on Netflix .
Show “8” (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. South Korean TV shows and films are generally ahead of their time when it comes to highlighting the exploitative nature of late-stage capitalism, and this show fits perfectly alongside projects like “Squid Game.” Eight strangers are chosen to participate in a game in which they are locked together in a building, staying on a different floor each night. They earn money by the minute, but all their supplies must be purchased with their winnings at a huge markup. Initially, the participants pool their resources to ensure everyone gets more money—until they discover that people on the higher floors earn more. Then things get nasty.Watch “Squid Game” onNetflix .
And Then There Were None (2015)
The first thing that might come to mind is to dismiss the idea that Agatha Christie’s adaptation has anything to do with Lord of the Flies , even if it’s about a group of people stranded on an island. But there’s more to it than that: Christie took great pleasure in pushing her (often aristocratic) characters to the point of bursting, with polite afternoon tea conversations masking terrible instincts lurking beneath the surface. And in this sense, And Then There Were None is perhaps her most scathing (in a good way) portrait of people rewriting once-cherished rules when provoked. Eight strangers arrive on the fictional, utterly isolated Soldiers’ Island off the coast of Devon, brought together under various bizarre pretexts. Over a tense dinner, they are shown a gramophone recording explaining that each of them is guilty of a death, and that each will face justice in turn. Dun dun dun. Watch And Then There Were None on Acorn TV.
We Are All Dead (2022 – )
In “All of Us Are Dead, ” high school turns into a living hell, almost literally, when a viral outbreak turns Hyosan High School into the epicenter of a strange epidemic. The teenagers soon realize they are isolated from the rest of the town, with no help available. Nihilism is not uncommon in zombie films, as are themes surrounding the breakdown of social structures. But “All of Us Are Dead” explores the world of a closed high school under constant threat as a parallel to our own: class and social origin remain powerful forces, even (or especially) in the face of the trauma of attacks, and arbitrary social hierarchies are reinforced under the weight of constant trauma. The closed school setting is used brilliantly, and the film also has an appropriately melodramatic edge.Watch “All of Us Are Dead”on Netflix .
Stranded (2019)
At first glance, “Lost” seems a bit more realistic than some of the other shows featured here. It’s set on a Thai island engulfed by a tsunami. The island used to be home to a prestigious high school, and a group of students secretly returned there for a party on the last day of school. Apparently, this was a bad idea after the storm hit. Kraam (Papangkorn Lerkchaleampote), one of the few students who actually lives on the island, finds himself trapped there along with a couple dozen of his classmates. Kraam knows the island well, but Anan (Chutawut Pattarakampol) assumes leadership, while the other students either assume necessary roles or submit. As the miniseries unfolds, the new political order crumbles, and the island’s secrets are revealed.Watch “Lost” on Netflix.