First trailer for Mae Martin’s Wayward is here – and everyone’s saying the same thing

The first trailer for Mae Martin’s upcoming series Wayward is here, and everyone is saying the same thing. 

The Canadian non-binary comedian is behind the new horror-thriller series, which tells the tale of the fictional Tall Pines Academy and the troubled teenagers sent there. 

The series features Unbelievable’s Toni Collette as the creepy school leader Evelyn Wade and Martin as Alex Dempsey, a police officer who recently moved to the area with their pregnant wife Laura Redman (Sarah Gadon). 

The trailer sees various clips from the upcoming series, with the Tall Pines school appearing to be at the centre of various misfortunes in the town. Although it’s hard to tell the exact storyline of Wayward based on the trailer, Collette has certainly provided an unnerving first look. 

Welcome to Tall Pines. We think you'll be very happy here.

Wayward, starring Mae Martin & Toni Collette, premieres September 25. pic.twitter.com/KjnnnjCLXC

— Netflix (@netflix) July 31, 2025

However, there’s one thing that viewers just can’t shake, and that’s what they believe to be an uncanny link between Martin’s Wayward and the 2015 drama Wayward Pines, which is based on The Wayward Pines Trilogy by Blake Crouch. 

“Is this a reboot of Wayward Pines?”, one person commented beneath the Wayward trailer. Another echoed, “Wayward? Tall Pines? Anyone remember the short-lived show Wayward Pines? Am I going crazy here?”

“Tall Pines? Wayward? Wayward Pines? Not confusing at all,” another added.

Is Wayward based on Wayward Pines?

It’s bad news for fans of the 2015 drama. Martin’s upcoming series Wayward is not based on Wayward Pines, despite sharing a similar name. 

Featuring Matt Dillon (There’s Something About Mary), Charlie Tahan (Ozark), and Carla Gugino (Night at the Museum), the cancelled thriller series saw a secret agent taking over a small-town case in Idaho after two agents mysteriously disappeared in the area.

Martin’s upcoming series, however, is an original story they have “been dying to tell for years”.

Inspired by their own experiences as “a wayward teen in the early 2000s,” the series creator, co-showrunner, executive producer and star told Tudum that they researched the “troubled teen” industry ahead of the series.

“My best friend was sent to one of these troubled teen institutes when she was 16. She came back and had the craziest stories about it,” they told the outlet.

The official plot synopsis for Wayward reads: “After an escape attempt from an academy for “troubled teens”, two students join forces with a newly local police officer, unearthing the town’s dark and deeply rooted secrets. Wayward stars Mae Martin, Sarah Gadon, Sydney Topliffe, Alyvia Alyn Lind, Brandon Jay McLaren, and Toni Collette.”

Wayward lands on Netflix on 25 September.

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