What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedThe Wilds
Sarah Streicher · Series · 2020
If you loved The Wilds, start with The Vaster Wilds (Lauren Groff) — a book on the same thread. Below: 2 books, 4 films and 2 podcasts, each matched to The Wilds across media.
You were drawn to the way The Wilds uses extreme isolation to force a brutal examination of human nature.
Books on the same thread
The Vaster Wilds
Lauren Groff · Book
Explores: wilderness survival, deconstruction of faith, isolation.
If the survivalist tension in The Wilds kept you watching, you will appreciate how this narrative deconstructs faith and resilience when characters are pushed to their absolute physical limits.
Where the Crawdads Sing
Delia Owens · Book · 2018
Shares a thread with The Wilds: survival.
Fans of The Wilds will recognize the core theme of isolation and the way the environment acts as a mirror for the protagonist's internal struggle for survival and identity.
Films on the same thread
The Wild Robot
Film · 2024
Explores: Artificial Intelligence, Parenthood, Nature vs Technology.
Like the castaways in The Wilds, this story explores the necessity of bonding and adaptation when an outsider is suddenly thrust into a harsh, uninhabited island environment.
Eden
Film · 2025
Shares 2 threads with The Wilds: Psychological Thriller, Survival Drama.
This film mirrors the social experiment aspect of The Wilds, showing how group dynamics quickly unravel into chaos when a group of outsiders attempts to build a new society.
Lord of the Flies
Film · 1963
Explores: Loss of Innocence, Human Nature, Civilization vs Savagery.
This classic serves as the blueprint for the island survival trope seen in The Wilds, focusing on the inevitable decay of social order and the loss of innocence.
Where the Crawdads Sing
Olivia Newman · Film · 2022
Shares a thread with The Wilds: Survival.
Much like the protagonists in The Wilds, the lead character here must navigate the harsh realities of nature and social prejudice while surviving completely on her own terms.
Podcasts on the same thread
The Truth
The Truth · Podcast · 2026
Explores: human condition, experimental storytelling, moral ambiguity.
If you enjoyed the suspenseful, experimental storytelling of The Wilds, this anthology provides similarly tense, self-contained explorations of moral ambiguity and the human condition in surprising new settings.
The White Vault
Fool and Scholar Productions · Podcast · 2026
The Wilds fans will appreciate the creeping sense of dread and the focus on a small group uncovering dark, buried secrets while trapped in an unforgiving, frozen landscape.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is The Wilds based on a book or other source material?
The Wilds is not an adaptation of a book or other source material. The television series was created by Sarah Streicher and follows an original story about a group of teen girls stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash.
What is the primary premise of The Wilds?
The Wilds follows a group of teen girls from diverse backgrounds who must survive on a deserted island after a plane crash. As they struggle to stay alive, they form bonds and reveal past traumas, eventually discovering that their presence on the island was not an accident.
Are the girls in The Wilds on the island by accident?
No, the girls in The Wilds did not end up on the island by accident. While they initially believe the plane crash was a tragic event, the narrative reveals that their stranding was part of a larger, intentional plan.
Does The Wilds focus on character relationships?
Yes, The Wilds focuses on the relationships between the teen girls as they clash and bond while fighting for survival. The series explores the secrets they keep and the personal traumas they have endured before and during their time on the deserted island.