At this point, any new show is binge-worthy enough to fill up the copious amount of time we all have. On Dec. 11, Amazon Prime released the next show stopper: The Wilds. At first glance, it’s easy to make a safe assumption that this is a survival type drama, but it proved itself time and time again that it is way deeper and more alluring than a basic survivor game. 

If you told me the season’s 10 episodes were each an average of an hour-long, I wouldn’t have even tried to sit down and watch. Yet, I found myself glued to the screen each hour while simultaneously destroying my sleep schedule. 

The first season is about nine very different girls discovering and adjusting to a dystopian life on a deserted island following a traumatic plane crash. The more you watch, you come to find that they are unaware that they have become subjects of a social experiment. 

The season starts out innocently enough where nine girls meet on a private jet ready to take them to a female empowerment retreat called Dawn of Eve in Hawaii. Sure enough, this innocent beginning pulls a full 180 as the plane goes down mid-flight. 

To start, it was easy to identify the teenage clichés within each character. Leah, living vicariously through books; Fatin, a self-absorbed materialist; Martha, hyper-aware and concerned about Toni who is outspoken and agitated; Nora the wallflower; Rachel, competitive diver; and super athlete; Dot, a proactive go-getter and leader; Shelby, the bubbly blonde and finally, the hyper talkative Jeanette. However, these stereotypes are quickly replaced with the most complex and gripping storylines I’ve ever seen portrayed on the small screen. 

Not only are these characters compelling, but their backstories are shown in snippets and have manifested into their present traumas and their mental, emotional and physical wellbeing is repeatedly tested and reflected within their behaviors while on the island. As the viewer, you start to easily identify yourself with these girls in different ways. You start to see yourself struggling to find your identity in the suffocating world of comparisons or getting over a tremendous heartbreak and confronting anxiety. All of these things became hyper-exposed while on the island, and before I knew it, I found myself saying “I worry about that too.” Albeit abnormal circumstances, there was something comforting about having these complex and struggling characters deal with issues everyday teenagers encounter.  

Each episode was told from a different character’s perspective of the events that transpired before and after the island. The interrogations, featuring a different character in each episode, conducted by agents Dean Young and Daniel Faber provide a striking contrast between the girls’ demeanors before and after the experiment, which was just as jarring as their damaged and empty appearances. 

With all its twists, turns and breath-taking cinematography (Amazon definitely took their time to capture the beauty of the set), I would highly recommend this show to anyone who has nine hours to spare. Since the storyline ended on a major cliffhanger, all I can wish for is to watch it again like it was my first time watching and for season two to come out ASAP.