The Society (TV series)

The Society is an American mystery teen drama web television series created by Christopher Keyser, that premiered on Netflix on May 10, 2019. The series stars Kathryn Newton, Gideon Adlon, Sean Berdy, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Jacques Colimon, Olivia DeJonge, Alex Fitzalan, Kristine Froseth, Jose Julian, Alexander MacNicoll, Toby Wallace and Rachel Keller. In July 2019, the series was renewed for a second season, which is set to be released in 2020.

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) 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

 Kathryn Newton as Allie Pressman, Cassandra's younger sister who grew up in her shadow.
 Gideon Adlon as Becca Gelb, Sam's best friend who is pregnant.
 Sean Berdy as Sam Eliot, Allie and Cassandra's cousin. Grizz's love interest.
 Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Helena, Luke's religious girlfriend.
 Jacques Colimon as Will LeClair, Allie's best friend who grew up in foster care.
 Olivia DeJonge as Elle Tomkins, an outcast who becomes Campbell's girlfriend.
 Alex Fitzalan as Harry Bingham, the popular and wealthy son of the Town Mayor.
 Kristine Froseth as Kelly Aldrich, Harry's ex-girlfriend.
 Jose Julian as Gordie, a smart kid who has a crush on Cassandra.
 Alexander MacNicoll as Luke, Helena's boyfriend and former quarterback.
 Toby Wallace as Campbell Eliot, Sam's older brother and Allie and Cassandra's cousin who exhibits psychopathic personality traits. He physically abuses Elle. 
 Rachel Keller as Cassandra Pressman (season 1), Allie's older sister who is a natural leader. She has a congenital heart defect for which she is medicated.

Recurring
 Jack Mulhern as Gareth "Grizz" Visser, a former football player, intellectual and Sam's love interest
 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 & Gwen's friend.
 Grace Victoria Cox as Lexie, Allie's rival.
 Naomi Oliver as Olivia, Gwen & 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 as Amanda Pressman
 David Aaron Baker as Jim Pressman
 Michael Siberry as Rodgers Eliot
 Paul Anthony Stewart as Doug Eliot
 Anastasia Barzee as Karen
 Chaske Spencer as Mr. Pfeiffer
 Chloe Levine as Emily
 Ava Gaudet as Lynette Eliot

Episodes

Production

Development
In 2013, Christopher Keyser and Marc Webb pitched the show to Showtime, but the network later 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 will also act as writer, and executive producer, with Webb set to direct. On July 9, 2019, the series was renewed for a second season, which is set to be released in 2020.

Casting
Alongside the initial series announcement, it was confirmed that Kathryn Newton had been cast as a series regular. In November 2018, Rachel Keller, Gideon Adlon, Jacques Colimon, Olivia DeJonge, Alex Fitzalan, Kristine Froseth, Jose Julian, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Alex MacNicoll, Jack Mulhern, Salena Qureshi, Grace Victoria Cox, Sean Berdy, and Toby Wallace joined the cast.

Filming
Principal photography for the first season took place in Lancaster, Massachusetts, from September to November 2018.

Release

Marketing
On April 30, 2019, the official trailer was released. The first season was released on Netflix on May 10, 2019.

Reception
The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes 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, it has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

References

External links
 
 

Category:2010s American mystery television series
Category:2010s American teen drama television series
Category:2019 American television series debuts
Category:American teen drama web series
Category:Dystopian television series
Category:English-language television programs
Category:Gay-related television programs
Category:Murder in television
Category:Netflix original programming
Category:Serial drama television series
Category:Suspense television series
Category:Television series produced in Massachusetts
Category:Television shows set in Connecticut