Mae Martin calls TIFF-bound Netflix show ‘Wayward’ deeply personal and proudly local

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This article was published 08/09/2025 (402 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO – Toronto comedian Mae Martin says their new Netflix limited series “Wayward” hits especially close to home — and was proudly made there too.

Alyvia Alyn Lind and Sydney Topliffe star in the Canadian thriller as two teenagers sent to a troubled-teen reform program, where secrecy and manipulation lurk beneath a facade of structure and care.

Martin created the show and also stars in it alongside Toni Collette and Sarah Gadon.

Though fictionalized, “Wayward” draws from Martin’s past. As a teen, they spent time in rehab for addiction, and a close friend was sent to a troubled-teen facility.

“It’s a story I’ve wanted to tell since my teens,” says Martin of the show, which premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival on Tuesday.

“I just became interested in the (teen reform) industry and also in the way we support young people, or don’t. It was always something I wanted to tell and then it was just figuring out how to do it in a way that wasn’t oppressively sad, that had a sparkle to it.”

The eight-episode series blends mystery and comedy as Martin’s cop protagonist, Alex Dempsey, and his pregnant wife, Gadon’s Laura, settle into their new home in the idyllic town of Tall Pines. When a string of strange events unfolds, Alex begins to suspect that Collete’s Evelyn, the enigmatic leader of a troubled teen program, may be behind it all.

Martin hopes the series sparks dialogue about the dark side of the troubled-teen industry.

“It’s a billion-dollar industry and even though our version of it is a heightened version… I think once you research the schools, the roots of them are self-help cults from the ’70s and they’re very unregulated,” they say.

“The type of behavioral therapy that they’re doing is very surreal and theatrical. So there’s a lot there.”

The Toronto-shot “Wayward” is among Netflix’s first Canadian original series, following its CBC co-production “North of North.”

The series arrives amid ongoing debate over the Online Streaming Act, which mandates that foreign streaming services support and produce Canadian content.

Several platforms — including Amazon and Apple — have challenged a CRTC order requiring foreign services earning more than $25 million annually in Canada to dedicate five per cent of their local revenue to Canadian programming.

Motion Picture Association-Canada, which represents companies including Netflix and Paramount, is contesting a portion of the CRTC’s order that mandates contributions to local news.

Gadon says streamers have a responsibility to contribute to the communities that host them.

“I think that ultimately, tech companies that come here, whether they’re in a cultural space or a business space, they have to give back to the communities and countries that they’re operating in. It just feels like common sense.”

Martin says they support the CRTC’s efforts to hold streaming platforms accountable for investing in Canadian stories, hoping it will help keep talent in the country rather than forcing them to seek success elsewhere.

The comedian pointed to their own experience – in the 2010s, they moved to the U.K. and earned a name for themselves touring the nation’s standup comedy circuit and co-creating Channel 4 dramedy “Feel Good.”

“I’ve been doing comedy for 25 years and I really felt like I had to leave to make a profile in order to come back and be able to make stuff,” Martin said.

“I hope that changes with more opportunity with the streamers and things, because the more infrastructure there is, the less people will feel like they have to go.”

“Wayward” hits Netflix on Sept. 25.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 8, 2025.

Note to readers:This is a corrected story. A previous version erroneously described which part of the CRTC ruling Netflix is challenging.