What would you do as a teen if all the adults in your town vanish without a trace?
That's the premise behind the unnerving new mystery teen drama from Netflix that follows a group of high school students who find themselves struggling to survive after they arrive via bus back at their hometown from an aborted school trip and find all their parents gone.
Naturally, without the boundaries imposed by their elders, the group enjoys an escape from good behaviour and revel in freedom and parties.
But soon it becomes clear that the parents aren't coming back, the town is not what they thought it was, and the teens don't necessarily have everything they need to survive as a group.
Tense relationships and politics form, forcing the group into an increasingly harsh Lord of the Flies-type situation.
But at the centre of the dark drama is the mystery of what happened to the parents as small clues begin to trickle through.
From director Marc Webb , the man behind the brilliant anti-romcom 500 Days of Summer, there is an authentic feel to the interactions between the youths, but above all else it is the plot that leads the way, so while shallow it's easy to get swept along.
The cast is littered with talented young stars, with the anchor of Big Little Lies star Kathryn Newton as Allie proving to be a real draw to the episodes.
Additionally, Legion actress Rachel Keller stars as Allie's sister Cassandra, who has an awkward relationship with her younger sibling and also emerges as a leader in the group, having been class president before the parents vanished.
With a large cast providing a plethora of typical American school tropes and soap opera-style relationships, there's enough background noise to be invested in, but it is mostly the group dynamics and themes of capitalism, privilege and conventional paths to adulthood that make the series an interesting watch.
When the world you inhabit every day changes so much, do you stay in the same roles and cliches as before, or do you carve out something new?
It's also highly serialised and therefore makes an ideal binge-watch.
As the series progresses and gets more intense, you wonder where exactly the show will take its premise next.
Verdict
While heavy on plot and rather shallow in places, The Society is a glossy but disturbing tale of teen survival that utilises rising star Kathryn Newton for all her talents.
The Society is available on Netflix now.
Let us know what you think of The Society in the comments below.
