Credit: Netflix

With each passing day, the spring lineup on Netflix is blossoming into a showbiz hotspot of anticipation. But if you’re still sceptical, you might want to take a look at what awaits the streamer’s very own Lord of the Flies adaptation.

Based on William Golding’s dystopian classic, the four-episode series marks the first television adaptation of the beloved novel. Scheduled to drop on May 4th, Lord of the Flies follows a group of English schoolboys who become desert island castaways.

Left with no choice but to confront the unravelling situation with civility, the children must handle the terrifying confrontations on their own. But that’s only until tribes start to form, making way for an inevitable power struggle.

Directed by Marc Munden, Lord of the Flies is created and written for Netflix by Emmy-winning co-creator of Adolescence, Jack Thorne. In addition to revealing the release date, Netflix also unveiled first-look photos of the cast, featuring David McKenna as Piggy, Winston Sawyers as Ralph, Lox Pratt as Jack, Ike Talbut as Simon, and Thomas Connor as Roger. Several young actors are set to make their on-screen debuts in the series.

According to Thorne, speaking to Netflix, the adaptation couldn’t have arrived at a better time. “As a society, we’re having a conversation right now about boys. We’re losing a generation of boys, and we’re losing it because of the hate they are ingesting – because it is an answer to their loneliness and isolation.”

Re-reading Golding’s book as an adult really hit home with Thorne, who was extremely fascinated by the “tender portrait” of “very complicated boys having a complicated relationship with their status and anger.” Thorne believes the story is a rectification of our contemporary problems.

The production took place in Malaysia, and the crew capitalised on the dense rainforests and secluded islands to ensure they convey that unsettling feeling organically.

“We couldn’t shoot with the children after 6 o’clock, yet a lot of the action takes place after dark. Mark Wolf (director of photography) and I developed this idea of shooting day for night with an infrared camera, which responds to the green foliage, changing it to pink and red. It has a hallucinatory feel, heightened with magic realism,” Munden says.

“I hope it takes people back to the book, and I hope it allows people to lean into what the book really is, in my opinion – a difficult and dangerous account of who we are and what we’re capable of,” Thorne continues. While only time will tell whether Lord of the Flies hits home, to find out for yourselves, don’t forget to save the May date!