10 Wild Choices For Your Next Binge
What do you get when you mix teenage girls on a desert island with a shady privately funded company? Probably something close to The Wilds. With a blend of melodrama and mystery, The Wilds is a teen drama in every sense of the word. We’ve combed through the archives and saved you the hassle of finding something similar with our top 10 picks for alternate viewing. To keep things simple for skim-readers, we’ve also added what similarities these have. Of course for all the shows we’ve reviewed, we’ve also added a handy link so you can check out our full thoughts on that series and see if it’s something you want to invest your time with. So without further ado, we present 10 TV shows to watch when you’ve finished streaming The Wilds.
Lost
Similarities – Stuck On A Desert Island
Back in 2004, a tiny show called Lost went way over-budget with its pilot episode. The consequences of that saw several people fired. Little did they know this mishap would help grow Lost into a worldwide phenomenon that completely changed the way people watched TV. This highly engrossing, mystery series revolves around a group of plane-crash survivors washing up on shore and fighting for survival on a very weird island holding many, many secrets. Across 7 seasons the show does lose its way a little but it serves up an engrossing and unmissable journey nonetheless. If you haven’t seen it already, Lost is a must-watch show.
The 100
Similarities – Characters & Tone
The 100 is set 97 years after a nuclear war has destroyed civilization. A spaceship housing humanity’s lone survivors happens to be humanity’s last hope for survival. With that in mind, 100 juvenile delinquents are thrown back to Earth, crash landing in the hopes of re-populating the planet. There’s a teen-drama affair with this one, featuring plenty of relationship issues and a suitably campy tone through much of its run-time. This is definitely one worth sticking with though and after a relatively wobbly first season, The 100 starts to find itself a lot more. With 7 seasons to get through and lots of drama along the way, this one should keep you very busy.
The Society
Similarities – Gripping Mystery & Teen Issues
The Society is essentially a modern-day spin on Lord Of The Flies. In true Netflix fashion though, The Society feels slightly overlong across its 10 episodes and could have done with some tighter editing. However, the series is certainly intriguing and begins with a strange smell descending over an American town as various kids return from a school trip. They soon come to realize all the adults are missing and even stranger, the town is now inexplicably surrounded by thick, lush forestry. When the smell finally disappears, the kids realize that their town holds small differences that play a bigger part in the plot further down the line. Realizing they’re stuck with nowhere to go, the kids in The Society descend into a heady cocktail of teen angst and melodrama. Between these constant bouts of partying and having sex, the group do come together and try to figure out what’s happened – which is revealed somewhat in the second half. Do be warned though that The Society was cancelled by Netflix during the middle of 2020 and as such, does not have a conclusion. Still, it’s a fun ride up until that point. You can read our thoughts on The Society in our full season review here!
Dare Me
Similarities – Mystery & Teen Issues
Dare Me is an interesting cheerleading drama that takes elements of Gossip Girl and other melodramas of its kind and blends them up into a 10 episode series driven by some dark, central themes around murder, rape and jealousy. To be fair, this one may be a little dark for younger audiences but those kids aged 15 and over, should definitely be okay with this one. Based on the best-selling 2004 novel of the same name, Dare Me is a tale that predominantly revolves around three females. Addy and Beth are best friends; inseparable teenage girls reveling in the heady world of alcohol, drugs and parties. When new cheerleading coach Colette arrives to shake things up, what follows is a story that starts to drive a wedge in Beth and Addy’s friendship, while dark secrets blanket the trio. While it may be a little darker than the material in The Hardy Boys, the “whodunit” mystery is pretty strong in this and it’s backed up by some good character development too. You can read our thoughts on Dare Me in our full season review here!
Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Similarities – Tone, Humour & Teen Vibes
Buffy The Vampire Slayer is one of the most influential shows in paving the way for strong female characters. Its forward thinking ideas around relationships, storytelling and timeless comedy makes it a show that holds up to this day. The story revolves around a teenager called Buffy Summers who finds out she’s a slayer – a young girl destined to push back the forces of evil that spew out the aptly titled Hellmouth located in the town of Sunnydale. While many fans will agree the show should have concluded at the end of season 5, season 6 ironically features one of the best episodes of TV – a musical no less – that captures the humour, heartbreak and excellent narrative work this show is synonymous for. Easily one of the best shows to come out the 90’s, Buffy The Vampire Slayer is a quintessential slice of spooky action and another must-watch if you’re in the mood for empowering female action. You can read our thoughts on Buffy The Vampire Slayer in our full season reviews here!
Westworld
Similarities – Mystery & Organization Controlling A Game
Based on Michael Crichton’s campy 1973 novel, Westworld is anything but cheesy sci-fi. In fact, Westworld is a heady, thought provoking puzzle box full of intriguing ideas and challenging themes. At the heart of this lies a theme park known as Westworld where robot inhabitants serve their human hosts’ every desire. What would happen then if those robots start to gain sentience? This question consumes large parts of Westworld and while the later seasons do lose sight of what made the show so special, season 1 in particular is abut as close as you could get to perfect sci-fi. If you’re in the mood for mind-bending sci-fi with a twist, this one’s well worth a watch. You can read our thoughts on Westworld in our full season review here!
Outer Banks
Similarities – Thrilling Adventure & Teen Vibes
Outer Banks is one of those shows that just seems to work. It has just the right amount of humour, a solid Famous Five/Goonies feel and manages to weave all of this into a decent mystery that progresses at a good pace. The story itself revolves around the Outer Banks, an island that plays host to two distinct tribes. The Kooks and Pogues live on the class divide, with the poor Pogues playing host to our four friends, John B, JJ, Kiara and Pope, who set out on a mission to find John B’s missing Father and a hidden treasure holding 400 million in gold bars. The set-up is simple enough, and as the episodes tick by they’re joined by enigmatic rich Kook girl Sarah, who has some great chemistry with the group and a well written romance that doesn’t bog the story down. All in all, this is a great option and the adventure certainly feels similar to The Wilds. You can read our thoughts on Outer Banks in our full season review here!
Pretty Little Liars
Similarities – Teen Issues
Pretty Little Liars revolves around four friends who are stalked by an anonymous foe who reveals their darkest secrets. If that wasn’t enough, this quartet also work together to investigate the disappearance of their best friend; the Queen Bee of the group, Allison. What begins as a simple mystery soon become so much more as twists and turns keep things suspenseful. There’s an element of Gossip Girl in here too but what keeps this one so interesting stems from finding out who “A” is and what these girls may be hiding from each other. It can be a little slow moving at times but if you’re a fan of teen dramas then this one is definitely worth a watch.
Survivor
Similarities – Stuck On A Desert Island
Despite being around since the 1990’s, Survivor is arguably the trailblazer that pushed this concept into the mainstream. Interestingly, it also launched several months earlier than the first Big Brother too, so the year 2000 was a pretty busy year for this genre! With 40 seasons under its belt, Survivor’s premise is as simple as it is intriguing. At its core, each season features a group of contestants deliberately marooned in an isolated location, where they must provide food, water, fire, and shelter for themselves. It’s pretty basic stuff, mixed up of course with eliminations, tribal challenges and plenty of twists to keep things unpredictable. If you’re looking for something with a bit more realism than The Wilds but sticking strongly to the desert island idea, this one is well worth checking out. It may not be perfect, and certainly comes with its fair share of tropes and reality TV clichés, but it’s undeniably entertaining TV. So there we have it, our 10 TV show picks to pick up when you’re finished with The Wilds. What do you think of our picks? Do you agree? Are there any notable omissions? Let us know in the comments below!
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