''The Society'' is an American

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

teen drama In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

television series created by

Christopher Keyser Christopher Adam Keyser (born 1960) is an American producer and writer of primetime dramas. He is best known for creating the television series '' The Society'' and ''Party of Five''. Early life Keyser was born to a Jewish family on Long Isla ...

, that was released via

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content i ...

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

on May 10, 2019. The series stars

Kathryn Newton Kathryn Newton (born February 8, 1997) is an American actress. She is known for her starring roles as Louise Brooks in the CBS comedy series ''Gary Unmarried'' (2008–2010), Abigail Carlson in the HBO mystery drama series '' Big Little Lies' ...

Gideon Adlon Gideon Adlon (born ) is an American actress. She is best known for her starring roles in the comedy film '' Blockers'' (2018), the drama film ''The Mustang'' (2019), and the horror film '' The Craft: Legacy'' (2020). Adlon also starred in the Ne ...

Sean Berdy Sean Lance Berdy (born June 3, 1993) is an American actor, filmmaker and entrepreneur. He began his career as a child in the film sequel ''The Sandlot 2'' and starred in '' Switched at Birth'' for five seasons. Berdy starred in Netflix's '' The ...

, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Jacques Colimon,

Olivia DeJonge Olivia DeJonge (; born 30 April 1998) is an Australian actress, known for playing Tara Swift / Shaneen Quigg in ABC1's '' Hiding'', Becca in the film '' The Visit'' (2015), Elle in Netflix's '' The Society'' (2019), and Priscilla Presley in t ...

, Alex Fitzalan,

Kristine Froseth Kristine Froseth (; no, Frøseth; born 21 September 1996) is an American and Norwegian actress and model. She is known for playing Kelly Aldrich in the Netflix series '' The Society'' and Alaska Young in the Hulu series '' Looking for Alaska''. ...

, Jose Julian, Alexander MacNicoll,

Toby Wallace Toby Wallace (born 6 June 1995) is a British-born Australian actor, known for his role in '' Babyteeth'' (2019), for which he won the Marcello Mastroianni Award at the 2019 Venice Film Festival and the AACTA for Best Actor in a Leading Role in ...

and

Rachel Keller Rachel Keller is a fictional Character (arts), character in The Ring (film series), ''The Ring'' film series. The character, created by writer-producer Ehren Kruger and portrayed by Naomi Watts, serves as the protagonist of ''The Ring (2002 film) ...

. Although the series was initially renewed for a second season, it was ultimately canceled after one season as a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

Premise

''The Society'' follows the story of a group of teenagers who must learn to run their own community after the rest of the population of their town (West Ham,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

) disappears. The mystery begins when the students of the local high school return early from a canceled field trip and find that everyone else is gone. A dense forest appears surrounding the town; the outside world apparently no longer exists and cannot be contacted by telephone or Internet. The teenagers must come up with their own rules to survive with limited resources.

Cast and characters

Main

as Allie Pressman, Cassandra's younger sister who grew up in her shadow *

as Becca Gelb, Sam's best friend who is pregnant *

as Sam Eliot, Allie and Cassandra's deaf cousin * Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Helena, Luke's religious girlfriend * Jacques Colimon as Will LeClair, Allie's best friend and love interest who grew up in

foster care Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home ( residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family ...

as Elle Tomkins, an outcast who becomes Campbell's girlfriend * Alex Fitzalan as Harry Bingham, the popular and wealthy son of the Town Mayor, and Kelly's boyfriend *

as Kelly Aldrich, Harry's girlfriend * Jose Julian as Gordie, a smart kid who has a crush on Cassandra * Alexander MacNicoll as Luke, Helena's boyfriend and former

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Am ...

as Campbell Eliot, Sam's older brother and Allie and Cassandra's cousin who exhibits

psychopathic Psychopathy, sometimes considered synonymous with sociopathy, is characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, and egotistical traits. Different conceptions of psychopathy have been u ...

personality traits. *

as Cassandra Pressman, Allie's older sister who is a natural leader. She has a

congenital heart defect A congenital heart defect (CHD), also known as a congenital heart anomaly and congenital heart disease, is a defect in the structure of the heart or great vessels that is present at birth. A congenital heart defect is classed as a cardiovascul ...

for which she is medicated.

Recurring

Jack Mulhern John Francis "Jack" Mulhern (July 18, 1927 – September 19, 2007) was an American ice hockey player. He won a silver medal at the 1952 Winter Olympics The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 6. olymp ...

as Grizz, a former football player * Spencer House as Clark, a former football player and Gwen's on-and-off boyfriend * Emilio Garcia-Sanchez as Jason, a former football player and Erika's boyfriend * Salena Qureshi as Bean, a smart kid and Gordie's best friend * Olivia Nikkanen as Gwen, Clark's on-and-off girlfriend * Kiara Pichardo as Madison, Olivia and Gwen's friend *

Grace Victoria Cox Grace Victoria Cox (born March 10, 1995) is an American actress. She is known for playing Melanie Cross in the CBS series '' Under the Dome'' (2014–2015), Veronica Sawyer in the Paramount Network series ''Heathers ''Heathers'' is a 1989 ...

as Lexie, Allie's rival * Naomi Oliver as Olivia, Gwen and Madison's friend * Kelly Rose Golden as Marnie * Matisse Rose as Jessica * Alicia Crowder as Erika, Jason's girlfriend * Benjamin Breault as Blake * Damon J. Gillespie as Mickey, Harry's housemate * Peter Donahue as Shoe, a later member of The Guard * Seth Meriwether as Greg Dewey * Madeline Logan as Gretchen * Dante Rodrigues as Zane

Guest

Amy Carlson Amy Lynn Carlson (born July 7, 1968) is an American actress known for her roles as Linda Reagan in the CBS police procedural '' Blue Bloods,'' as Alex Taylor on the NBC drama ''Third Watch'', and Josie Watts in the NBC daytime soap opera ''Ano ...

as Amanda Pressman *

David Aaron Baker David Aaron Baker (born August 14, 1963) is an American actor whose credits stretch across theater, film, television and audiobooks. Biography On Broadway, he is most prominently known for his starring role as "Prince Dauntless" opposite Sarah ...

as Jim Pressman *

Michael Siberry Michael Siberry (born 1956) is an Australian stage and screen actor. Life and career Siberry was born in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. He graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney, Australia and began his career in Adelai ...

as Rodgers Eliot *

Paul Anthony Stewart Paul Anthony Stewart (born February 23, 1967) is an American stage and television actor. While Stewart has numerous theater credits, he is best known for portraying Danny Santos in the daytime soap opera ''Guiding Light''. Early life Stewart ...

as Doug Eliot *

Anastasia Barzee Anastasia Barzee (born April 24, 1971) is an American actress. Born in Miami, Barzee is a graduate of Frost School of Music. Career Barzee originated the role of Betty Haynes in '' White Christmas''. She also originated the role of Josephin ...

as Karen * Chaske Spencer as Mr. Pfeiffer *

Chloe Levine Chloe (; ), also spelled Chloë, Chlöe, or Chloé, is a feminine name meaning "blooming" or "fertility" in Greek. The name ultimately derives, through Greek, from the Proto-Indo-European root ', which relates to the colors yellow and green. T ...

as Emily * Ava Gaudet as Lynette Eliot

Episodes

Production

Development

In 2013,

and

Marc Webb Marc Preston Webb (born August 31, 1974) is an American music video director and filmmaker. Webb made his feature film directorial debut in 2009 with the romantic comedy '' 500 Days of Summer'', and went on to direct ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' ...

pitched the show to Showtime, but the network decided to pass on the series. On July 24, 2018, Netflix announced that it had given the production a series order. The series was created by Keyser, who also acted as writer and executive producer, with Webb directing.

Casting

Alongside the initial series announcement, it was confirmed that

had been cast as a series regular. In November 2018,

, Jacques Colimon,

, Alex Fitzalan,

, Jose Julian, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Alex MacNicoll,

, Salena Qureshi,

, and

joined the cast. Prior to the cancellation of the second season, it was planned that Olivia Nikkanen would be promoted to a series regular role for that season.

Filming

Principal photography took place in

Lancaster, Massachusetts Lancaster is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States. Incorporated in 1653, Lancaster is the oldest town in Worcester County. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 8,441. History In 1643 Lancaster was first ...

in September 2018.

Renewal and cancellation

The series was renewed for a second season in July 2019, but production was halted by the

. It was announced on August 21, 2020 that the show had been canceled, the complications of the pandemic having led to cost increases and difficulty scheduling production.

Release

Marketing

On April 30, 2019, Netflix released the official trailer for the series.

Reception

The review aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

provides an 86% approval from 36 reviews, and an average rating of 7.44/10. The website's critical consensus states, "An intriguing tangle of mystery and melodrama, what ''The Society'' lacks in levity—and at times clarity—it makes up for with its surprisingly thoughtful exploration of community, culture, and what it means to grow up." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, it has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Society, The (TV series) 2010s American mystery television series 2010s American teen drama television series 2019 American television series debuts 2019 American television series endings Dystopian television series Gay-related television shows Murder in television English-language Netflix original programming Serial drama television series Television productions cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic Television series about teenagers Television shows filmed in Massachusetts Television shows set in Connecticut Thriller television series