‘The Wilds’ EPs on Season 2’s ‘Pyrrhic Victory’ and Drawing Inspiration from Elizabeth Holmes

thewrap.com:

For “The Wilds” writers, executive producers and showrunners Sarah Streicher and Amy B. Harris, the island on which a group of teen women — and in Season 2, a control group of adolescent boys — are trapped (as unwilling participants in a twisted sociological experiment) is a metaphor for coming of age, which, Harris told TheWrap, is “very dark for a lot of people.” “And the idea that you can be seen and that a story that you relate to or feels like it’s a part of what you went through — even if it’s dark — deserves, I think, to be told,” she added.When the Prime Video show premiered in late 2020, it unraveled a complex survivalist narrative featuring young women in hostile opposition to their surrounding environment, themselves and often each other.

They were forced to learn how to hunt, build shelter and make peace with their horrifying newfound situation. Season 2, which debuted May 6, expanded the universe with the introduction of a separate boys’ island — once again orchestrated by the mysterious, omnipresent Dawn of Eve founder Gretchen Klein (Rachel Griffiths), continuing in her rabid quest to prove women can build a better, thriving society when faced with unimaginable pressures.

Speaking to the sophomore season’s dynamics, Harris said she and Streicher — who created the series — were intrigued by the idea that the boys’ island would “fail because of aggressive male toxic behavior.” Expounding that further, they settled on the juxtaposition of two polar opposite characters: the charismatic, seemingly nice guy Seth (played by “The Society’s” Alex Fitzalan) and outwardly masculine lacrosse player Kirin (Charles Alexander).