"Lord of the Flies" is so much more than you remember.
The classic 1954 William Golding novel has been a staple of high school English classes for decades, and one of the most formative works of literature of the 20th century, influencing everything from gender-bent homage "Yellowjackets" on Showtime to reality TV (like CBS's "Survivor") to Stephen King.
But like so many works of art considered "classics" and used for pedagogy, "Flies" can seem like a relic of the past, a curiosity rather than a warning. But in 2026, our modern age fueled by debates about boyhood and the "manosphere," reminders of the precariousness of democracy, the brutality and pointlessness of war and the very nature of human decorum, there is no wonder "Flies" is back and in living color.
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Debuting on Netflix May 4 after an acclaimed run on the BBC in the UK earlier this year, "Lord of the Flies" (★★★★ out of four) is the best show of the year, retelling a story that is desperately trenchant and resonant in 2026. Led by an astoundingly talented cast of young actors and brought to life with painterly brushstrokes of vivid color and horrifying imagery, "Flies" is four episodes of captivating, edge-of-your-seat horror. Adapted by Jack Thorne, who explored similar themes in 2025's word-of-mouth sensation "Adolescence," it is an absolute must-watch, as hard as that watching experience may be.
"Flies," you'll likely recall, takes place on a tropical deserted island, where a plane full of very young boys has crashed during a wartime evacuation. No adults survived the crash, and the children are left to organize and survive on their own, hoping for rescue. What starts as democratic, orderly, cooperative and hopeful quickly devolves into something violent, tribal, primitive and utterly wild.
Ralph (Winston Sawyers) initially emerges as the boys' "chief," helped by wielding a symbolic conch shell he blows like a horn to gather them all together and maintain order. He's helped by Piggy (David McKenna), the prototypical nerd with asthma and an unfortunate nickname, but one of the only boys thinking of the practicalities of their survival. Rivaling Ralph is Jack (Lox Pratt), a Draco Malfoy-looking rich kid with a chip on his shoulder and a desire only to show his prowess as a hunter and leader of fun and chaos. Living in Jack's shadow is timid Simon (Ike Talburt) who is easily bullied, unable to resist Jack's thrall and authority. The four lead the group of terrified and tiny boys, some who look as young or four- or five-years-old.
Every second of "Flies" is a meticulously thought-out moment of wonder and horror in equal measure. The stunning shots of the island scenery, wrought in deep gem-tones and harsh bright light, contrast with the dark, gray and inscrutable palette of every other "serious" show on TV right now. Director Marc Munden does not want you to miss a single thing that happens onscreen. The setting is a place of deep, almost painful beauty that will bear witness to the unspeakable horrors of humanity, writ large by a group of once-innocent boys who are stand-ins for the depravity of the rest of us.
The adaption is extremely faithful to the original novel, with a few liberties taken here and there to dig further into the psyches of the boys. Each character is drawn with nuance and care, and the actors are wise beyond their years, even as their very youth hammers home the story's themes in a more visceral way than the written word could. These are children, babies. It's an emotional oomph you won't remember from English class.
So much of modern TV is fast, clumsy and overly-expository, catered for viewers too distracted by their phone to pay attention. "Flies" demands that attention, and will leave you behind if you aren't all in. It is slow − almost achingly so − to a point where you cannot tear your eyes away from the haunting images. It is deathly silent in many scenes; a quiet horror that creeps up as the boys lose their grip on polite society and descend into barbarity. We are so sucked in as to be complicit in the baseness of human nature that all leads to violence and depravity.
We are Ralph and Jack and Simon and Piggy. We are weak and base. And we are hopeless.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Netflix's primal 'Lord of the Flies' is the best TV show of the year
