In a world free from parents, boys, technology, and the expectations placed on young women, a disparate group of teen girls battle for their lives when a private plane they're on crashes into the ocean near a deserted island in Amazon Studios' The Wilds. However, it was revealed in the first season that the social experiment at the hands of Rachel Griffiths's genius/mad scientist Gretchen Klein included a second plane carrying teen boys. The differences between young men and women under pressure with no food, shelter, and amenities is where season 2 picks up, according to an anticipated new trailer.
In the first season, ingenuity meets the past insecurities of the young women at the heart of the YA series from Sarah Streicher. Season 1 centered on a diverse cast including Indigenous and queer characters and touches on gender, the effects of toxic masculinity, and environmental concerns. From the trailer, The Wilds promises to deliver more of all that.
The cast includes the bookish Nora (Helena Howard of Shoplifters of The World) and her athletic sister Rachel (Reign Edwards); wild child socialite Fatin (Sophia Ali); best friends who are Indigenous and one of whom is queer, Toni (Erana James) and Martha (Jenna Clause); the brokenhearted Leah (Sarah Pidgeon); the reliable Dot (Shannon Berry); and the Christian beauty queen Shelby (Mia Healey).
The boys before the crash
Outside of a Lord of the Flies vibe on the island of boys, there's not much information about their backstories. "We wanted to be men, but the truth is, some of us were becoming monsters," says one of the young men in the trailer.
As for queer couple Toni and Shelby, who became one of the greatest ships of 2020, a kiss in the trailer and a few other hints signal that they're still together for at least part of the season in a show where anything can happen.
Toni and Shelby
The Wilds premiered in late 2020 and is set to return May 6. Tune in to see how puppet master Gretchen's experiment on homosocial groups goes.
