Wayward Parents Guide: Is the Netflix series suitable for children?

Netflix's latest thriller series, Wayward, is quickly emerging as a popular title on the platform. The Mae Martin-created show quickly made its way to Netflix on September 25, 2025.

The mystery series follows two teen girls, Leila and Abbie, who are sent to the mysterious Tall Pines, an academy for troubled teens, after they are caught smoking pot in school. The show features an ensemble cast, including Mae Martin, Alyvia Alyn Lind, Toni Collette, Sydney Topliffe, and Sarah Gadon.

The dark and grisly themes of the show are likely to make parents wonder: Is Wayward suitable for children? The simple answer to this question is no. The Netflix series is rated TV-MA and contains violence and mature themes, making it unfit for a young audience.

More on this in our story.

Wayward Parents Guide: The Netflix series is rated TV-MA

Checking a show's rating is the perfect way to determine whether a title is suitable for your kids or not.

Wayward, the latest Canadian thriller on Netflix, has become very popular on the platform and is bound to reach your children's screens. Strong performances from actors like Toni Collette and Mae Martin, and a mysterious plot might make the show a tempting watch, but it is rated TV-MA, meaning it is suitable for mature audiences only.

The TV-MA rating for Wayward makes it unsuitable for children. Even under adult supervision, the show is unfit for young minds and contains several mature themes and explicit content. Additionally, countries like Canada, Brazil, Argentina, and Singapore have rated the latest Netflix series TV-MA or 16+, making it an unfit streaming option for kids.

The TV-MA rating is usually given to programs containing one or more letters from LSV, meaning crude indecent language (L), graphic violence (V), or explicit s*xual activity (S).

Wayward Parents Guide: Things to look out for

Netflix's Wayward is a dark and compelling tale about troubled teens and how they are sent to a special school, which claims to transform them into desirable children for their parents.

While the Netflix series is a fictional tale, it draws inspiration from the troubled teen industry, which is too mature for a young audience. The show explores the minds of troubled teens and how they are sent into a special boarding school and cult to learn a certain behavior. The mature and psychological themes explored in the show could be triggering for young minds and should be avoided at all costs.

In addition to these adult psychological themes, Wayward also contains n*dity, substance abuse, violence, and strong language. Young teens are shown smoking pot and c*nnabis in school, taking mushrooms, and rubbing a white powder on their gums. Additionally, the series also features substance abuse when the teens are given toxins to create a psychedelic effect in them.

Furthermore, the series uses coarse and strong language in many sequences, making its content unfit for a young audience. Lastly, the show also features extreme violence and blood. Expect sudden on-screen deaths and stabbing, where bloody wounds are featured explicitly and in great detail. A character's head is smashed with a rock, and another receives multiple stab wounds to their chest.

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While the latest Netflix series features several dark themes woven in a sinister narrative, it features a bleak ending for many of its main characters, making it even more unsuitable for children. Wayward surely paints a dark picture of the troubled teen industry, fascinating for adults, but the show is not an appropriate streaming option for kids.

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