Engrossing, snarky mystery has mature themes, language.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Language
a lot
The girls swear frequently about their situation, their pre-crash lives, and at each other. Expect to hear "f--k," "motherf----r," "s--t," "c--t," "bitch," and the like.
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The plane crash that starts the action isn't graphic but does convey the reactions of the girls on the plane as it descends. One girl is wounded and later dies. One girl has bulimia, and we see her making herself vomit. Another girl kills a snake and slaps it against a rock in anger and frustration.
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The girls find drugs (Oxycontin, e.g.) in the pilot's suitcase and dole it out for injuries. One girl sells drugs to make money to support her ill father.
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Cell phones play an important role in moving the plot forward on the island and in pre-crash life. A limited supply of Diet Coke is the girls' beverage on the island. Takis chips are a valued prize that washes up from the sea. Jarritos soda is significant to one girl's background story.
Positive Role Models
some
The girls are competitive with each other, often not overtly. They do pool their belongings and share those. Leah, the center of the show, lies about her age to sleep with an adult author. One girl, Dot, knows survival skills from watching a lot of survival TV shows. The girls come from varied backgrounds -- twin sisters are half Black, one girl is Native American, one (who dies early on) is Asian, one is of Middle Eastern descent, and one is a deeply religious Southern pageant queen.
Positive Messages
some
Teens and parents will appreciate the message that people can't be simply defined and put into boxes.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that The Wilds is a series that's reminiscent of Lost, but all the characters are troubled teen girls. They swear (expect "f--k," "s--t," "bitch"), one of the main characters loses her virginity with an older author in the first episode, and we see one girl with bulimia make herself vomit. The plane crash scene isn't violent, but we see the girls' emotional reactions as the plane falls from the sky. Competition among the girls, their shifting allegiances, and the stories of their pasts will feel familiar to teens.
I am pretty liberal parent and so watched this with my younger teens. While the core story and episodes are fine there are many graphic images related to teenage sex including teenage sex, oral sex etc. The girls talk about sex and fight far more than they talk about survival, and swear in most sentences, which is a bit over the top. I wished the filmmakers had toned it down just a bit in the name of executing an otherwise decent teenage drama. It is way more explicit than the summary written on common sense
Not for teens as some would suggest. This show has a disturbing amount of profanity and shows someone of faith swearing (JFC) and not holding to her belief system. There is a lot of feminist, anti-patriarchy content (men are responsible for the ills of the world essentially). There is also drug use and sexual content. Now, there are some who find this okay, but if you are going here for a review, you probably need to know all of this, so you can make an informed decision.
What's the Story?
In THE WILDS, nine teen girls -- four pairs that are known to each other and one alone -- are en route to a retreat on a tropical island. The plane crashes within swimming distance of a deserted island, where they expect to be quickly rescued and imagine that their stories are all over the news. But they don't know that this "crash" was no accident, and on the island they're being closely monitored by the retreat's organizer (Rachel Griffiths, Muriel's Wedding). An operative dies shortly after the crash, but we learn that there's a second one in the group. The action is split among time on the island, flashbacks, and post-island talks with two male investigators; we gradually learn about the girls' pasts, what brought them on this trip, and how their time on the island has changed them.
Arriving 16 years after Lost, the time is right for an all-teen-girl desert island melodrama that mixes adventure, emotion, and serious bonding. Viewers who hate cliches might be tempted to parachute off this ride early on, when Leah (Sarah Pidgeon), talking to investigators, says of their traumatic time on the island, "Being a teenage girl in normal-ass America? That was the real living hell." Press on, though, and The Wilds reveals its charms and its humor. Getting to know each of the girls through flashbacks and their experiences on the island deepens our appreciation of characters who could be stereotypes: the tough girl, the lesbian, the slut, the cheerleader, the brainiac, etc. Created by Sarah Streicher (Daredevil) and executive produced by Amy B. Harris (Sex and the City), The Wilds joins a long list of recent thought-provoking shows made by women that introduces viewers to fresh new talent.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about death and disaster, which are prominent themes in The Wilds. Is the show optimistic or pessimistic? Are the characters intended to be role models?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
suggesting a diversity update.
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
By Marina Gordon
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
