Netflix’s ‘Wayward’ Is Inspired by a Real-Life Cult Whose Members Played a Twisted Therapy Game
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Netflix’s hit drama series, Wayward, stars Mae Martin as a detective who moves to the small town of Tall Pines, only to discover that the town and its school are hosting a heap of deadly secrets.
In Wayward, which is set in 2003, Martin’s Alex Dempsey investigates the town’s school for “troubled teens,” Tall Pines Academy, and its eclectic leader, Evelyn (played by Toni Collette). Alex begins to suspect all is not right with the school and soon begins working with two teens from Toronto who have found themselves trapped in the school, with no hope of getting out.
Wayward is an intriguing and mysterious series, but is the Netflix hit based on a true story? Here’s what you need to know.
While the exact plot of Wayward is not based on a true story, Tall Pines Academy is based on Martin’s own childhood experiences, and an old friend from their teenage years who was sent to a school for troubled teens.
“I started developing Wayward based on a lot of things, but, mainly, my own experiences as a young person,” Martin, who created the series, told Tudum. “I was a wayward teen in the early 2000s, and my best friend Nicole was sent to one of these ‘troubled teen’ institutes when she was 16. When she came back and shared her stories, I became pretty obsessed with the industry,” Martin revealed.
Martin says they were “deeply intrigued” to learn that “a lot of its origins actually came from self-help groups and cults in the ’70s—and how there can be huge profits and often questionable practices. I knew it was rich for thriller territory.”
Martin’s friend Nicole became a consultant on Wayward, and the writers’ room also included someone who had been to one of the schools.
Along with Nicole’s experience, Martin also drew inspiration from the religious movement Synanon to write Wayward.
“In researching these schools—a lot of which are now being talked about in different documentaries—I learned about Synanon,” Martin told Tudum. “That was a self-help cult in the ’70s in LA, which was ultimately shut down, but it kind of transformed and was part of the beginnings of the ‘troubled teen’ industry. So we took those facts and then dialled them up a bunch.”
Read more https://www.biography.com/movies-tv/a69016779/netflix-wayward-based-on-a-true-story-synanon
Content retrieved from: https://www.biography.com/movies-tv/a69016779/netflix-wayward-based-on-a-true-story-synanon.
