| May 4, 2026 
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An ‘Adolescence’ creator takes on ‘Lord of the Flies’ | | From left, David McKenna, Winston Sawyers and Ike Talbut in a four-part adaptation of “Lord of the Flies.” J Redza/Sony Pictures Television, via Netflix |
Dear Watchers,William Golding’s 1954 novel “The Lord of the Flies” has been a staple of high school reading lists for over 50 years. There is something damnably timeless about its story of British schoolchildren stranded on an island and descending into savagery. It is a cautionary tale about how society often allows the strongest, meanest, handsomest and richest to seize control, and then to lead their mob into madness. It is the kind of story that the writer-producer Jack Thorne knows well — and has told before, in the Emmy-winning Netflix mini-series “Adolescence,” which he created with Stephen Graham. Aside from a few new scenes of back story, Thorne’s take on “Lord of the Flies” holds close to Golding’s original plot. But it also has a renewed sense of urgency that keeps it from feeling like a relic. (All four episodes of the series are available on Netflix.) Thorne’s team has assembled a strong group of child actors, especially in the four lead roles: Piggy (David McKenna), the smart and practical boy who is bullied for his weight and know-it-all tone; Jack (Lox Pratt), the charismatic aristocrat who wants to be in charge of everything; Simon (Ike Talbut), a sensitive child who can tell that everything will go wrong; and Ralph (Winston Sawyers), the group’s amiable but often ineffectual elected leader. The director Marc Munden also coaxes good performances out of the youngest actors. This is a “Lord of the Flies” in which the children look like children, small and fragile, unable to maintain discipline or even keep their faces clean. Munden’s greatest contribution though — in collaboration with the visual designers and the cinematographer Mark Wolf — is the way the series looks. The colors are rich and saturated, sometimes to the point of feeling otherworldly. There is a lot of dynamic movement, too. The cameras follow along with the boys as they scamper through the island’s jungles, hunting animals and going feral. The result is something that recalls the rawness and expressionism of 1960s British New Wave cinema, spiked with the fevered intensity of Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now.” It’s grim but alluring. Also this week | | Shannon Gisela, left, and Brittany Adebumola in a scene from “M.I.A.,” from a creator of “Ozark.” Jeff Daly/Peacock |
- “The Other Bennet Sister” is an adaptation of a Janice Hadlow novel, which retells the events of “Pride and Prejudice” from the perspective of one of its minor characters: the socially awkward Mary (Ella Bruccoleri). Richard E. Grant and Ruth Jones play Mary’s parents in the series, which arrives Wednesday, on BritBox.
- In “Legends,” Steve Coogan plays an early 1990s British government official who recruits a handful of customs agents — including one surprisingly capable Heathrow luggage inspector (Tom Burke) — to go undercover and gather intel on heroin smugglers. The whole series will be available starting Thursday, on Netflix.
- The “Ozark” co-creator Bill Dubuque created the South Florida thriller series “M.I.A.,” about a crafty young woman (Shannon Gisela) who plots deadly revenge against the vicious Miami crime family that slaughtered her parents and siblings. The series debuts in full on Thursday, on Peacock.
- Season 3 of the horror anthology “The Terror” adapts the Victor LaValle novel “The Devil in Silver,” about a man who is wrongly admitted to an asylum, where he finds something that is even more sinister than institutional incompetence. Dan Stevens plays the lead this season, which debuts on Thursday, on Shudder and AMC+.
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