#FIRSTLOOK: “WAYWARD” TOPS NETFLIX GLOBALLY FOR ENGLISH TV

The buzz around Wayward just keeps growing. The new Canadian thriller from creator Mae Martin has officially claimed the #1 spot on the Netflix Global Top 10 (English TV) for a second consecutive week, solidifying its place as an international hit.

Debuting with a powerful 8.2 million views in its first week (Sept. 22–28, 2025), Wayward quickly captivated global audiences with its gripping mystery set in the eerie town of Tall Pines, home to a boarding school for troubled teens.

This continued momentum is a landmark moment for Canadian storytelling on the world stage, and a major achievement for Mae Martin and the entire creative team behind the series.

Don’t miss what everyone’s talking about. Wayward is now streaming globally on Netflix.

#TIFF25: “WAYWARD” REVIEW

By Mr. Will Wong

One of the Festival’s biggest surprises comes out of the Primetime programme in Netflix‘s WAYWARD, written, directed by and starring Toronto’s Mae Martin. The Limited Series centers is set in a small town. We meet a detective Alex (Martin) and their wife Laura (Sarah Gadon) who are expecting a child, as they move back to the town here Laura grew up. We also meet best friends Abby (Sydney Topliffe) and Leila (Alyvia Alyn Lind), who are in the rebellious years of their teens. What they don’t know though is that their parents secretly are plotting to have them admitted to a correctional youth institution.

WAYWARD is full of intrigue and mystery and we can’t wait to unpeel the layers of these characters as things were just beginning to get rolling in the preview we saw, but this looks very promising. Martin thoughtfully looks at the institutionalization of norms and standards, and refreshingly, maybe sometimes it’s the adults who aren’t always in the right.

This is a welcome turn of foot for Martin, who, though they have experience in episodic television, is exercising completely different muscles and showing their range here. Cast is rounded out by some very familiar names, including Toni Collette and Patrick J. Adams.

WAYWARD screens at TIFF ’25 as follows:

Tuesday, September 9
TIFF Lightbox
9:00 pm

Thursday, September 11
TIFF Lightboxlocation_on
9:45 pm

#FIRSTLOOK: “WAYWARD” NEW TRAILER

Welcome to Tall Pines. We think you’ll be very happy here.

Today, Netflix released a teaser trailer and first look images for the limited series, Wayward.

Wayward releases September 25, 2025 only on Netflix.

ABOUT WAYWARD

Logline : Nothing is what it seems in Tall Pines. After an escape attempt from an academy for “troubled teens”, two students join forces with a newly local police officer, unearthing the town’s dark and deeply rooted secrets.

Synopsis: 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 center 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.

Format / Episodes: 8 Episode Limited Series
Creator / Co-Showrunner / Executive Producer: Mae Martin
Co-Showrunner / Executive Producer: Ryan Scott
Directed By: Euros Lyn (101, 102, 107, 108), Renuka Jeyapalan (103, 104), John Fawcett (105, 106)
Written By: Mae Martin (101), Ryan Scott (102), Evangeline Ordaz (103), Mohamad El Masri (104), Kim Steele (105), Kayla Lorette (106), Alex Elbridge & Ryan Scott (107), Mae Martin & Misha Osherovich (108)
Cast: Mae Martin, Sarah Gadon, Sydney Topliffe, Alyvia Alyn Lind, Brandon Jay McLaren and Toni Collette
Recurring Cast: Tattiawna Jones, Isolde Ardies, Joshua Close
Guest Stars: Patrick J. Adams, Patrick Gallagher, Gage Munroe, Byron Mann, Mark McKinney
Executive Producers: Mae Martin, Ryan Scott, Jennifer Kawaja with Sphere Media, Bruno Dubé with Sphere Media, Ben Farrell with Objective Fiction, Hannah Mackay with Objective Fiction, Euros Lyn

#FIRSTLOOK: NETFLIX’S “WAYWARD” BEGINS PRODUCTION

Today Netflix announced the start of production of Wayward, a thriller by co-showrunners Mae Martin and Ryan Scott, in the Toronto area.

Euros Lyn (Heartstopper, Doctor Who) joins the production as executive producer and director (episodes 101, 102, 107, 108).

Previously announced cast members include Mae Martin, Toni Collette, Sarah Gadon, Sydney Topliffe, Alyvia Alyn Lind, Brandon Jay McLaren, Patrick J. Adams, Joshua Close, and Patrick Gallagher.

Logline: Wayward is a thriller set in a bucolic but sinister town that explores the insidious underbelly of the “troubled teen industry” and the eternal struggle between one generation and the next.

Format / Episodes: 8 episode Limited Series

Creator / Co-Showrunner / Executive Producer: Mae Martin

Co-Showrunner / Executive Producer: Ryan Scott

Executive Producers: Ben Farrell, producing through his company Objective Fiction, along with Hannah Mackay. Jennifer Kawaja and Bruno Dubé of Sphere Media.

Directors: Euros Lyn, Renuka Jeyapalan, and John Fawcett

Production Company: Sphere Media

For the full announcement, please visit: TUDUM.com

#FIRSTLOOK: NEW CAST ADDITIONS FOR “WAYWARD”

Netflix today announced five new additions to the cast of the limited series Wayward (fka Tall Pines), including series regulars Sydney Topliffe (Davey & Jonesie’s Locker, Doin’ It) and Alyvia Alyn Lind (Chucky, Daybreak). You probably caught star Mae Martin just this past weekend hosting the Canadian Screen Awards!

-Patrick J. Adams (Suits, The Right Stuff), Patrick Gallagher (Big Sky, Joe Pickett) and Josh Close (American Solitaire, Killers Of The Flower Moon) have been cast as recurring guest stars.

They join the previously announced series regulars, Mae Martin (Mae Martin: SAP, Feel Good, The Flight Attendant), Sarah Gadon (Ferrari, Alias Grace) and Brandon Jay McLaren (The Cleaning Lady, Snowfall).

Logline:

Wayward is a thriller set in a bucolic but sinister town that explores the insidious underbelly of the “troubled teen industry” and the eternal struggle between one generation and the next.

Format / Episodes: 8 episode Limited Series

Creator / Co-Showrunner / Executive Producer: Mae Martin

Co-Showrunner / Executive Producer: Ryan Scott (Servant, Treadstone, Fear The Walking Dead)

Executive Producers: Ben Farrell, producing through his company, Objective Fiction (Feel Good, The Gold), Hannah Mackay (Peep Show, Year of the Rabbit), Jennifer Kawaja (Sort Of, The Porter, Cardinal), Bruno Dubé (Transplant, The Sticky)

Production Company: Sphere Media