"I watched Netflix's brutal new show The Society and now I'm terrified of teenagers."

If there’s one thing I’ll never tire of it’s watching TV shows where hot adults pretend to be teenagers in life or death situations.

And it appears I’m not the only one, as it’s a formula that has always worked well for TV networks and streaming services such as Netflix, with shows like The 100, Riverdale and Pretty Little Liars appealing to an immense adult audience just as much as it does to teen viewers (in some cases, even more).

The latest entry into the dark teen drama world is The Society, a ten-part Netflix series that centres on a group of teenagers who are mysteriously transported to an exact replica of their wealthy New England town after going on as senior school camping trip. In this strange new town, there is no trace of their parents to be found and they are left alone to figure out what the hell has happened as they try and cobble together a new type of social structure. A structure which at first is pretty much based on their high school cliques.

Netflix has billed the new series as a modern twist on the classic Lord of the Flies tale, where a group of British boys are stranded on an uninhabited island and their attempts to govern themselves leads to disastrous and deadly consequences.

While The Society does attempt to emulate this narrative, like most teen dramas of this ilk, it blends more deadly societal concerns with a hefty dose of schoolyard politics, lusty romances and the desire to fit in.

This is where the series gets a tad Gossip Girl like…until you remember that the stakes are a little higher here and brutal death, rather than social exile, is the real threat.

The first episode of The Society effectively sets up the chilling yet wildly free new world our teen protagonists find themselves in.

After bad weather forces them home from their camping trip they are dropped off in the town square to find that everybody has disappeared and when they try to leave they are unable to do so, thanks to the fact that miles of impenetrable forest has sprung up around their home and all the roads out are mysteriously blocked.

After an initial bout of panic, they do what any other group of teenagers would do in that situation, thinking the world could be ending while completely unsupervised. They party, they drink to excess and they have sex.

The Society has a cast of characters that are common to any kind of teen, dystopian drama caper. There are cool kids Harry (Alex Fitzalan) and his girlfriend Kelly (Sierra Burgess Is A Loser star Kristine Froseth), amiable nerdy students Gordie (José Julián), Becca (Gideon Adlon) and Sam (Sean Berdy) and, of course, a resident "bad boy" Campbell (Toby Wallace).

The series is anchored by central characters Cassandra (Rachel Keller), who is student council president and therefore tries to establish some sort of order in the unsupervised town and her sister Allie, played by Kathryn Newton. As the biggest name in the cast Newton, who was excellent in Supernatural and Big Little Lies and very average in Pokémon Detective Pikachu, gets many of the juiciest moments.

As The Society comes from the mind of Christopher Keyser, the co-creator of the iconic 90's show Party of Five, the teen and relationship elements are strong throughout the entire series, and there's just enough supernatural and survival drama weaved into it to keep you on edge through all ten episodes.

With the entire season of The Society dropping on Netflix all at once, it's the perfect show to binge watch. It will also make you terrified of teenagers, so there's that.

Season one of The Society will be available to watch on Netflix on Friday evening, May 10. 

For more stories like this, you can follow Mamamia Entertainment Editor Laura Brodnik on Facebook.  You can also visit our newsletter page and sign up to “TV and Movies”  for a backstage pass to the best movies, TV shows and celebrity interviews (see one of her newsletters here).