Lord of the Flies – Review | Netflix

LORD OF THE FLIES on Netflix is a BBC series production. This adaptation of William Golding’s classic novel has four episodes, each one hour long. The young cast delivers breathtaking performances, and the adaptation is as brutal as ever. Of course, it was also written by Jack Thorn, who gave us Adolescence. Read our Lord of the Flies series review here!

LORD OF THE FLIES is a Netflix series that was actually produced by the BBC. This 2026 series adaptation of the iconic novel has just four episodes. Each episode follows one character, and while four episodes is a fairly short series, it does have too many slow moments.

Of course, the real struggle for many will be seeing children behaving like adults in the most brutal of ways. I have to admit that I was not crazy about the visual style and choices. Fortunately, the young actors were so amazing that I focused on the characters and forgot to be irritated.

Obviously, the visuals of an adaptation should never be something you need to “overcome”, so I have to mention this early on. It’s also the reason why our rating for this Netflix & BBC series isn’t higher.

Continue reading our Lord of the Flies series review below. Find all four episodes on Netflix from May 4, 2026. It’s also available on BBC iPlayer now.

Are you ready for this brutality?

I have to say that knowing this Netflix adaptation (produced by the BBC) comes from the writer behind Adolescence actually scares me. I mean, William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is scary enough on its own without adding the intense social realism and brutality of this particular writer.

And yes, I do mean all of this as a compliment.

As always, Lord of the Flies is about a group of schoolboys who find themselves stranded on a remote island. Here, they create their own community, which will soon turn the place into a dystopian hell for most. Any sense of normalcy and familiar rules will vanish as their inner beast and desperation take over.

The horror of innocence corrupted

The reason Lord of the Flies has always hit so hard is that all the characters are children. We see children as inherently good and innocent. And then this story came along to show us that even they will still fall victim to the darkest side of human nature. Well, some of them!

Are some people just born evil, or do they become evil due to circumstance? Will the strongest person be the ideal leader on a remote island, or should it be the one with compassion and most capable of using reason?

The answers could seem obvious, but looking at the world we live in today, some people staunchly believe in strength over compassion. Usually, because they feel safer, as they believe they cannot be harmed, if they stand with the proverbial strong man. In that sense, Lord of the Flies is as relevant as ever.

Yes, even in this adaptation that keeps the story set in its original time, around 70 years ago.

Who takes on the role of caretaker?

The series Yellowjackets is perhaps the most recent take on a “Lord of the Flies”-inspired situation. In that series, it’s a group of teenage girls who crash in a forest area in the mountains, and find themselves having to survive. By whatever means necessary.

I love that series and was able to relate to it due to the female power and logic of the characters, alongside the more current setting.

With Lord of the Flies, we follow pre-pubescent boys who are still very far from being adults. In fact, some of the boys are very young, which results in some characters wanting to protect the “young ‘uns” first and foremost. A trait that would often be attributed to female characters.

However, in Lord of the Flies, it’s a young boy who always mentions them as a priority. It’s a strong reminder that at a young age, both boys and girls can naturally take on the role of a caretaker. And they step up when needed.

More breathtaking young talent

I loved that despite all the characters being pre-teen boys, they are shown as extremely different. Not least in terms of having very diverse priorities and strengths. Sure, some view their newfound world in the same way, but overall, we see many different times. And, as a result, some fascinating performances by this young cast.

The four episodes are named after four characters, so I’ll focus on them, but all are amazing in their portrayals. Also, most are newcomers getting their professional debut in this production. We have Winston Sawyers stars as Ralph, Lox Pratt as Jack, David McKenna as Piggy, and Ike Talbut as Simon.

Once you see Lox Pratt as Jack in Lord of the Flies, it should come as no surprise that he has also been cast as Draco Malfoy in the upcoming Harry Potter series. Among the other castaways, we see Thomas Connor as Roger, Noah and Cassius Flemyng as twins Sam and Eric, Cornelius Brandreth as Maurice, and Tom Page-Turner as Bill.

Watch Lord of the Flies on Netflix or the BBC

This latest Lord of the Flies series adaptation for the BBC (and now Netflix) comes from Jack Thorne. Most recently, Jack Thorne created the extremely successful four-part series Adolescence for Netflix. A series that has won awards at virtually every major award show.

I don’t think the same will happen with Lord of the Flies, but not due to any fault of Jack Thorne. Instead, I have to say that the choice in directing will probably be a hit-or-miss for many viewers. For me, it’s a miss.

It takes away too much focus with its warped wide lens shots that do nothing for the character-driven story. Also, there are way too many long, lingering shots. The actors are great and need no visual help to get the points across. The director of Lord of the Flies is Marc Munden, who previously directed episodes of The Sympathizer and The Third Day.

Thanks to the immensely talented young actors and the strong story (originally by William Golding), I definitely recommend giving this BBC & Netflix series a chance. Also, I loved that this very first series adaptation was made with the support of author William Golding’s family.

The series premiered on BBC One on February 8, 2026, and the episodes were released weekly. All four episodes are available to watch on BBC iPlayer now. Just as it was the case with the BBC series Dracula, this limited series is now coming to Netflix for international audiences to enjoy.

All four episodes of Lord of the Flies will be on Netflix on May 4, 2026.