Sony Pictures Television announced Friday that Netflix has acquired the U.S. rights to Lord of the Flies, a new TV show created by Adolescence creator Jack Thorne. The limited series is based on William Golding’s seminal novel of the same name.
“When a group of boys crash‑land on a deserted island, their fight for survival spirals into something much darker,” the logline reads.
The BBC, which aired the show in the UK, released a trailer for Lord of the Flies (watch more trailers):
What happens in the Lord of the Flies trailer?
Set in the 1950s, a plane crashes with a group of schoolboys on a deserted Pacific island. Amidst the chaos, two boys — Ralph (Winston Sawyers) and Jack (Lox Pratt) — emerge as the leaders. With no adults to supervise, the boys descend into madness as they slowly lose their innocence.
“In an attempt to remain civil, the boys organize themselves, led by Ralph and supported by the group’s intellectual, Piggy,” the synopsis reads. “But Jack, who is in charge of signal fire duty, is more interested in hunting and vying for leadership and begins to draw other boys away from the order of the group and ultimately from hope to tragedy.”
Lord of the Flies also stars David McKenna as Piggy, Ike Talbut as Simon, Thomas Connor as Roger, Noah as Sam, Cassius Flemyng as Eric, Cornelius Brandreth as Maurice, and Tom Page-Turner as Bill.
Thorne wrote and created Lord of the Flies, the first-ever TV show based on Golding’s novel. Thorne is coming off the overwhelming success of Adolescence, the Emmy-winning limited series that became Netflix’s second-most-watched English-language show ever, behind Wednesday Season 1.
Marc Munden directed the four-part series, with Joel Wilson serving as an executive producer.
Lord of the Flies premiered on the BBC on February 8. Netflix has not announced a release date for the show.
