{"id":178080,"date":"2025-09-29T17:47:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T17:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/178080\/"},"modified":"2025-09-29T17:47:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T17:47:09","slug":"netflix-viewers-rush-to-watch-binge-worthy-thriller-wayward-as-its-branded-best-show-in-long-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/178080\/","title":{"rendered":"Netflix viewers rush to watch binge-worthy thriller Wayward as it&#8217;s branded &#8216;best show in long time&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"1\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Mae Martin and Toni Collette&#8217;s new series Wayward has sucked viewers in, jumping up the viewing charts on Netflix.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"4\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">The Canadian series follows the Taskmaster star (who also created the show) as protagonist Alex Dempsey, a police officer who investigates an academy for &#8220;troubled teens&#8221; in Tall Pines. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"6\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Alex joins forces with two teen students , Leila (Alyvia Alyn Lind) and Abbie (Sydney Topliffe), to unearth the secrets of the academy and its headteacher, Evelyn Wade (Collette).<\/p>\n<p>What to Read Next<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"10\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">The cast is rounded out by Sarah Gadon as Laura Redman, Alex&#8217;s pregnant wife and former Tall Pines student, and Suits star Patrick J Adams as Mr Wyatt Turner, Leila and Abbie&#8217;s guidance counsellor.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"12\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">The addictive eight-episode series has been praised as the &#8220;best show in a long time&#8221; from a fan on Instagram, who revealed they binged it all in one go.<\/p>\n<p><img draggable=\"true\" alt=\"mae martin, wayward\" title=\"Mae Martin, Wayward\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"3600\" height=\"2401\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;width:100%;height:auto;\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/mae-martin-wayward-688ba077b3a4c.jpg\" class=\"css-0 e1g79fud0\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Netflix<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"15\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tech\/best-tech-deals\/g35899960\/best-streaming-services\/\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tech\/best-tech-deals\/g35899960\/best-streaming-services\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Best streaming services\" data-node-id=\"15.0.1\" class=\"body-link css-1lh7k7j emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Best streaming services<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"17\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">&#8220;Spent my entire saturday watching yesterday best show in a longggg time,&#8221; the person commented on Martin&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/hooraymae\/p\/DPJ2sinD7tg\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/hooraymae\/p\/DPJ2sinD7tg\/?hl=en\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Instagram\" data-node-id=\"17.1\" class=\"body-link css-1lh7k7j emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"19\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">&#8220;I&#8217;m not ashamed to admit that I streamed this whole show in one day,&#8221; someone else wrote.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"21\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">&#8220;I am absolutely loving it! Bravo on another amazing show,&#8221; another Martin fan wrote, referring to the star&#8217;s first series, queer dramedy Feel Good.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"23\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">&#8220;We have one episode left! Been watching 2 at a time, to drag it out. I don&#8217;t want it to end!&#8221; another fan enthused. &#8220;One of the best shows in a long time!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"25\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">The series is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, with a critic rating of 74% out of 34 reviews. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"27\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Wayward isn&#8217;t a perfect series, critics note, though the &#8220;stellar&#8221; performances and the high-octane tone makes it an enjoyable ride.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"29\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">&#8220;While its conclusion is more frustrating than you might expect, Wayward&#8217;s stellar performances and propulsive pacing make the journey worth more than the destination,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pastemagazine.com\/tv\/netflix\/wayward-review\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.pastemagazine.com\/tv\/netflix\/wayward-review\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Paste\" data-node-id=\"29.3.0\" class=\"body-link css-1lh7k7j emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Paste<\/a> magazine wrote in their review.<\/p>\n<p><img draggable=\"true\" alt=\"toni collette wayward\" title=\"Toni Collette, Wayward\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"3600\" height=\"1800\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;width:100%;height:auto;\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/toni-collette-wayward-68da4a361ea68.jpg\" class=\"css-0 e1g79fud0\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Courtesy of Netflix<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"32\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Digital Spy&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/ustv\/a66058899\/wayward-netflix-review-mae-martin\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/ustv\/a66058899\/wayward-netflix-review-mae-martin\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"review\" data-node-id=\"32.2\" class=\"body-link css-1lh7k7j emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">review<\/a> praised Wayward&#8217;s central performances and twists, though it points out how the series is juggling too much in a relatively short runtime.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"34\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">&#8220;A queer twisty genre blending thriller that goes places you won&#8217;t expect, even if it tries to do a little too much at points,&#8221; the review reads. &#8220;Toni Collette is predictably great, but it&#8217;s Mae Martin who steals the show.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"36\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Wayward is streaming on Netflix.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"39\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">The new edition of Living Legends is here! <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hearstmagazines.co.uk\/special-editions-subscriptions-lvgladygaga\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.hearstmagazines.co.uk\/special-editions-subscriptions-lvgladygaga\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Buy Gaga in newsagents or online\" data-node-id=\"39.0.1\" class=\"body-link css-1lh7k7j emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Buy Gaga in newsagents or online<\/a>, priced at just \u00a38.99.<br data-node-id=\"39.1\"\/><\/p>\n<p><img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/a5577bef-f874-41e6-b03b-0f8d9f1e5f46_1686136547.file\" alt=\"Headshot of Stefania Sarrubba\" title=\"Headshot of Stefania Sarrubba\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"css-o0wq4v ev8dhu53\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Reporter, Digital Spy<\/p>\n<p>Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/author\/stefaniasarrubba\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Radio Times<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Digital Spy<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mae Martin and Toni Collette&#8217;s new series Wayward has sucked viewers in, jumping up the viewing charts on&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":178081,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[64,63,428,115122,430,134,429,115121,427],"class_list":["post-178080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-content-type-news","tag-contentid-709752ca-c725-4f8b-a005-2053ca3047e0","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-entertainment","tag-locale-gb","tag-shorttitle-netflix-fans-call-wayward-best-show-in-long-time","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=178080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178080\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/178081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=178080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=178080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=178080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}