The Society (TV series)

The Society is an American mystery teen drama television series created by Christopher Keyser, that was released via streaming on Netflix on May 10, 2019. It stars Kathryn Newton, Gideon Adlon, Sean Berdy, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Jacques Colimon, Olivia DeJonge, Alex Fitzalan, Kristine Froseth, Jose Julian, Alexander MacNicoll, Toby Wallace and Rachel Keller. Although it was initially renewed for a second season, it was ultimately canceled after one season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Premise
The Society follows the story of a group of teenagers who must learn to run their own community after the rest of the population of their town (West Ham, Connecticut) disappears. The mystery begins when the students of the local high school return early from a canceled field trip and find that everyone else is gone. A dense forest appears surrounding the town; the outside world apparently no longer exists and cannot be contacted by telephone or Internet. The teenagers must come up with their own rules to survive with limited resources.

Main

 * Kathryn Newton as Allie Pressman, Cassandra's younger sister who grew up in her shadow.
 * Gideon Adlon as Becca Gelb, Sam's best friend who is pregnant.
 * Sean Berdy as Sam Eliot, Allie and Cassandra's deaf cousin.
 * Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Helena, Luke's religious girlfriend.
 * Jacques Colimon as Will LeClair, Allie's best friend and love interest who grew up in foster care.
 * Olivia DeJonge as Elle Tomkins, an outcast who becomes Campbell's girlfriend.
 * Alex Fitzalan as Harry Bingham, the popular and wealthy son of the Town Mayor, and Kelly's boyfriend.
 * Kristine Froseth as Kelly Aldrich, Harry's girlfriend.
 * Jose Julian as Gordie, a smart kid who has a crush on Cassandra.
 * Alexander MacNicoll as Luke, Helena's boyfriend and former quarterback.
 * Toby Wallace as Campbell Eliot, Sam's older brother and Allie and Cassandra's cousin who exhibits psychopathic personality traits.
 * Rachel Keller as Cassandra Pressman, Allie's older sister who is a natural leader. She has a congenital heart defect for which she is medicated.

Recurring

 * Jack Mulhern as Grizz, a former football player.
 * Spencer House as Clark, a former football player and Gwen's on-and-off boyfriend.
 * Emilio Garcia-Sanchez as Jason, a former football player and Erika's boyfriend.
 * Salena Qureshi as Bean, a smart kid and Gordie's best friend.
 * Olivia Nikkanen as Gwen, Clark's on-and-off girlfriend.
 * Kiara Pichardo as Madison, Olivia and Gwen's friend.
 * Grace Victoria Cox as Lexie, Allie's rival.
 * Naomi Oliver as Olivia, Gwen and Madison's friend.
 * Kelly Rose Golden as Marnie.
 * Matisse Rose as Jessica.
 * Alicia Crowder as Erika, Jason's girlfriend.
 * Benjamin Breault as Blake.
 * Damon J. Gillespie as Mickey, Harry's housemate.
 * Peter Donahue as Shoe, a later member of The Guard.
 * Seth Meriwether as Greg Dewey.
 * Madeline Logan as Gretchen.
 * Dante Rodrigues as Zane.

Guest

 * Amy Carlson as Amanda Pressman.
 * David Aaron Baker as Jim Pressman.
 * Michael Siberry as Rodgers Eliot.
 * Paul Anthony Stewart as Doug Eliot.
 * Anastasia Barzee as Karen.
 * Chaske Spencer as Mr. Pfeiffer.
 * Chloe Levine as Emily.
 * Ava Gaudet as Lynette Eliot.

Development
In 2013, Christopher Keyser and Marc Webb pitched the show to Showtime, but the network decided to pass on the series. On July 24, 2018, Netflix announced that it had given the production a series order. The series was created by Keyser, who also acted as writer and executive producer, with Webb directing.

Casting
Alongside the initial series announcement, it was confirmed that Kathryn Newton had been cast as a series regular. In November 2018, Rachel Keller, Gideon Adlon, Jacques Colimon, Olivia DeJonge, Alex Fitzalan, Kristine Froseth, Jose Julian, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Alex MacNicoll, Jack Mulhern, Salena Qureshi, Grace Victoria Cox, Sean Berdy, and Toby Wallace joined the cast. Prior to the cancellation of the second season, it was planned that Olivia Nikkanen would be promoted to a series regular role for that season.

Filming
Principal photography took place in Lancaster, Massachusetts in September 2018.

Renewal and cancellation
The series was renewed for a second season in July 2019, but production was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It was announced on August 21, 2020 that the show had been canceled, the complications of the pandemic having led to cost increases and difficulty scheduling production.

Marketing
On April 30, 2019, Netflix released the official trailer for the series.

Reception
The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes provides an 86% approval from 36 reviews, and an average rating of 7.44/10. The website's critical consensus states, "An intriguing tangle of mystery and melodrama, what The Society lacks in levity—and at times clarity—it makes up for with its surprisingly thoughtful exploration of community, culture, and what it means to grow up." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".