Netflix’s ‘Lord of the Flies’ Miniseries Review: A Missed Opportunity for Fresh Insight

‘Lord of the Flies’, William Golding’s seminal 1954 novel, has been a staple of high school curricula for decades. Its influence extends beyond literature into film and television, inspiring works like Yellowjackets and The Simpsons’ episode “Das Bus.” The story’s premise—children stranded on a deserted island forming a fragile society—has become cultural shorthand. But does a four-episode Netflix miniseries add anything meaningful to the original? The answer, at least according to this critic, is no.

The miniseries, co-produced by BBC and Netflix, follows the familiar plot: a group of British schoolboys survives a plane crash and attempts to govern themselves while awaiting rescue. Three central characters emerge in a power struggle:

• Piggy (David McKenna), the intelligent but bullied outsider,
• Jack (Lox Pratt), the aggressive hunter who embodies toxic masculinity, and
• Ralph (Winston Sawyers), the charismatic but flawed leader.

Tensions escalate into violence, culminating in the iconic image of a pig’s head on a stick—symbolizing the descent into savagery. The series grapples with age-old questions: Is humanity inherently corrupt? Do societal structures merely conceal our primal instincts? Yet, despite these weighty themes, the adaptation falls short.

Jack Thorne’s Adaptation: A Modernized Yet Hollow Retelling

The miniseries is written by Jack Thorne, known for his provocative work Adolescence. Thorne attempts to modernize Golding’s text through two key devices:

1. Episode titles named after characters, suggesting a shift in perspective. While each episode initially follows the titular character’s viewpoint—often including pre-crash flashbacks—the device quickly devolves into superficial window dressing, reverting to an omniscient narrative.
2. Flashbacks to the characters’ lives before the crash, which Thorne frames as a way to deepen their motivations. However, these additions feel forced and fail to enhance the story’s core themes.

Thorne’s modernization stumbles further when the series clings to period-accurate dialogue, such as the iconic line “sucks to your ass-mar.” This inconsistency disrupts the attempted pseudo-modernization, undermining any potential fresh take on Golding’s material.

Why This Adaptation Fails to Deliver

The miniseries’ biggest flaw is its lack of innovation. While the cast delivers strong performances—particularly McKenna’s portrayal of Piggy—the adaptation doesn’t justify its existence. The original 1963 film by Peter Brook remains a masterpiece, and its inclusion in the Criterion Collection speaks to its enduring legacy. Thorne’s version, despite its creative ambitions, offers little beyond a faithful (if diluted) retelling of Golding’s novel.

For fans of the book, the miniseries may serve as a nostalgic revisit, but it fails to engage with the material in a way that feels urgent or necessary. The story’s power lies in its simplicity and universality—qualities that this adaptation dilutes rather than amplifies.