The Society

With its intriguing premise and better-than-usual cast of young actors, at its best this show is a teen Lost -- but it lacks that show's brisk plotting and quirky characterizations. Instead, The Society moves more slowly, particularly in early episodes, where it seems to take the characters forever to grasp the predicament they're in and start drifting toward a meaty conflict. That conflict eventually arrives, with the town's 200+ teens coalescing into basically two forces: an orderly democracy led by former West Ham student body president Cassandra (Rachel Keller), and a group who advocates an everyone-for-themselves policy, led by Harry (Alex Fitzalan).

A good Lord of the Flies clash is always welcome, and this show obliges. The plot picks up pace as the season moves on, and viewers should be warned not to get overly attached to any one character, because they won't all make it. But with such a large cast given glancing characterizations, it can be hard to tell who's betraying who, and why. A more diverse cast would help -- there are multiple handsome floppy-haired male cast members, as well as several seemingly interchangeable female blondes -- as would more time concentrating on just a few main characters. As it is, audiences may get the sense that the show is just setting up a deep bench of warm bodies to be cannon fodder later, which lowers the stakes considerably. In short, this show isn't the addictive pleasure Lost is, but it's a decent enough binge for a stay-at-home weekend.