Is ‘Wayward’ Based on a True Story? What to Know About the Inspiration Behind The Hit Netflix Show

Everyone in your life is probably talking about that new Toni Collette and Mae Martin Netflix series, Wayward, and it’s no surprise. 

Just one week after its debut on the streaming service, the psychological thriller set in an idyllic New England town has made massive waves for its spooky vibes and examination of an industry that centers around troubled teens. 

The show, which follows two teen girls who get trapped up at an institute with a sketchy history and a charismatic leader, has everyone buzzing and wondering if any part of the series is true, or if it all came from the twisted mind of Martin, who also serves as the creator. Did Martin have an experience like this at a troubled teen academy? Well, it may surprise you how this story came to life.

Keep reading to find out if Wayward is inspired by a true story and how Martin brought Tall Pines to the small screen for everyone at home to gasp, laugh, and shriek at.

Is Wayward Based on a True Story? What to Know: 

In a way, the show is based on a true story, or at least inspired by real-life events. According to creator and star Martin — who goes by they/them pronouns — the series is loosely derived from one of their childhood friends, who was sent to a school for troubled teens for two years while they were growing up.

At a premiere event for the Netflix series, Martin — joined by several of their childhood friends — explained that the show is a labor of love for them as it took half a decade to see the light of day. Even before that, however, the idea has always been circling for the Canadian comedian as it comes straight from their own experience growing up with someone who was sent off.

“It’s very personal, the show’s been in development for like six years but I’ve been thinking about it since I was a teenager,” they said, adding that their best friend, Nicole Simon, “My best friend, when I was 16, she was a stoner — not in need of any radical intervention — and she was sent to a troubled teen institute. She was gone for two years and ended up escaping and hitchhiking and the stories that she had about her time there were so crazy.”

For those who have watched, this sounds incredibly familiar as it’s almost exactly what happens to Abbie (Sydney Topliffe) in the Netflix show. What’s more, Martin has come out and fully confirmed that Simon is the inspiration for the character and that Leila (Alyvia Alyn Lind) is Martin’s idea of what might have happened if they had gone after her and tried to rescue her.

In an Instagram post around the time of the show’s release, the series creator also shared that Simon worked as a consultant on Wayward, offering up her insights to the writers room on how to best bring institutions like Tall Pines Academy to life. Simon also makes a guest appearance in the show as a waitress at the diner where Martin’s character goes to meet with Maurice (Mark McKinney) to investigate the suspicious disappearances from Tall Pines.