Hooked to Wayward on Netflix already? Watch these 5 limited thriller drama series next and you wouldn't regret it

Well, apparently you are not alone, if Mae Martin’s Wayward left you examining the shadows and locking your doors more carefully. The good news? Short, witty, and spooky shows are abundant and offer the same chills. Whether you liked Wayward because of its hushed-town tension, spooky secrets, or that slowness where regular life begins to seem unnatural, these five series will leave you equally obsessed and smitten. There are mysterious teen groups, warped time traveling, and even towns with deadly rules; each one has its own sort of thrill. Take a blanket, turn the lights off and prepare to binge.

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The Society

If you loved Wayward because it gave you the sense that kids were rebelling against a corrupt adult society, then The Society is the best follow-up to watch. A group of high-school students find themselves trapped in a town without any adults. They must develop their own rules, money system, and punishments.

However, secrets, competition and power lust soon make everything messy. It is quite similar to the Tall Pines academy vibe in Wayward: leaders who cannot be trusted completely and teen friendships that can either shatter or shine. It is a short, binge-worthy show, and raises the same question: What is it like when the adults are gone?

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Dark

Dark trades teen drama for twisted time travel, but it takes the same delight in mystery and small-town secrets as Wayward. It explores intricate family histories and a destiny that appears to be unavoidable, in place of concealed experiments. Each hint alters your perception of the town and its inhabitants. It is darker, more sci-fi, but if you liked dissecting puzzles in Wayward, Dark will draw you in and will be worth all the time you invested in it.

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Sharp Objects

This is not a sci-fi of any kind. Sharp Objects is a suspenseful, slow-paced thriller on traumatic experiences, memories, and the dark secrets of a small town. Similar to Wayward, it makes one wonder about the local customs and the institutions people rely on.

In this case, it is the threat of shame, denial, and perverse family history. Evelyn in Wayward, played by Toni Collette, sent chills down your spine, and you will feel the same with this show’s gothic, razor-sharp glimpse at a town that looks and feels normal but is rotten at the very core. Sharp Objects is brief, well-performed, and unobtrusively touching.

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Lost

Lost is a long and more expansive series, but at its core, it is a story about a set of people trapped in a place they struggle to break free from. It demonstrates the way groups are created, disintegrated, and how they take risky decisions in order to survive.

Those who are fans of Wayward will enjoy the large cast, the outrageous twists, and the manner in which minor hints become massive mysteries in Lost. It is not as clean as Wayward, but it contributed to the creation of today’s mystery TV. It will have emotional twists, confusing secrets, and lots of unexpected ups and downs.

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Wayward Pines

In case you want something that reminds you of the creepy and rule-ridden town of Wayward, Wayward Pines is the show that you need. Initially, it appears to be an idyllic small town. However, all people have to abide by stringent regimes, and strange technology makes people unable to escape. As the plot develops, you gradually come to find out the appalling reality hiding beneath the veneer.

The show is produced by M. Night Shyamalan, and it is fond of large-scale surprises and will keep you guessing all the time. It is full of that same sense that no one is really safe and with a lot of chilling twists that Wayward fans will love.

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