Lord of the Flies

Jack Thorne wrote Lord of the Flies in the wake of Adolescence, and the two share a preoccupation with how quickly boys learn cruelty. Directed by Marc Munden, his collaborator on National Treasure and Help, the four-part series is the first television adaptation of William Golding's 1954 novel, developed with the support of Golding's family. It world-premiered in the Berlinale Special strand in February 2026 before airing on BBC One and iPlayer, with Stan carrying it in Australia.

Set in the early 1950s, it follows a group of British schoolboys stranded on a Pacific island after a plane crash, with no adults. Ralph is elected leader and, with the studious Piggy beside him, tries to hold on to the rules of the world they left. Each of the four hour-long episodes takes its title from one of the boys — Ralph, Piggy, Simon, Jack — and shifts perspective accordingly. Winston Sawyers, David McKenna, Lox Pratt and Ike Talbut lead an ensemble of more than thirty young actors, most of them first-time performers.

Critics responded strongly: 91% on Rotten Tomatoes from sixty-six reviews and a Metacritic score of 83, with particular praise for Munden's handling of the child cast and for a production design that keeps the island beautiful and indifferent. Audiences were more divided — the Rotten Tomatoes viewer score sits at 58%, a gap that reflects how unsparing the adaptation is willing to be with material often taught as a school text. Emmy nominations for sound followed, alongside Gotham and TCA nominations in the limited-series categories.