Lord of the Flies Netflix Mini-Series: Perspectives on Male Leadership and Power Dynamics

A boy drags stick near a stream
Ike Talbut as SIMON

As soon as I watched the new Netflix adaptation of Lord of the Flies (the first ever series adaptation), I knew a podcast was imminent. I've always been fascinated by the source material and the various film adaptations, but I fell hard for this version. The music, the cinematography, the intense focus on each of the four main characters -- everything expanded an already rich story to make it something even more immersive. I find myself returning to moments of the series where I want to linger in the music and the imagery. 

For this special episode, I was happy to share the conch with Reed Lackey, co-host of the Fear of God podcast for a special crossover episode that will release on both or our podcast feeds. We are joined by Anna Gonowon, founder of Rhyme and Reason coaching and Aaron Jones, co-host of The Leech Podcast. Together the four of us tackle themes of leadership, responsibility, and the challenges of social dynamics as portrayed by these young characters. Lord of the Flies is a seminal piece of Western literature and something that seems eerily relevant in a time and place where people still struggle to know what it means to play nice, share space, make room for people make mistakes and grow from them. Do our scripts allow for that, or are we doomed to turn against each other? 


A boy walks with stick
Winston Sawyers as RALPH

The Netflix Lord of the Flies is adapted from William Golding's novel. Created by Jack Thorne (ADOLESCENCE), directed by Marc Munden (HELP), and starring Winston Sawyers, Lox Pratt, David McKenna, and Ike Talbut. It was first released on BBC iPlayer in February 2026 and came to Netflix in May of 2026. 

A boy stands in the ocean screaming and holding a large shell
David McKenna as PIGGY

Reed Lackey is a film critic with NC Film Critics and is the co-host of the Fear of God podcast. He is a lover of all things horror, but even more than that, he loves discussing those stories with his friends (or whomever will listen). So he spends his days in southern California with his wife and son writing, reading, working, watching movies & TV, and having as many meaningful conversations as possible about all of the interesting stories all around us, and how we find ourselves in them. You can find him at thefearofgodpodcast.com.

A boy crouches in the trees
Lox Pratt as JACK

Anna Gonowon is the founder of Rhyme and Reason Coaching, where her tagline is "Coaching Smart People with Feelings." You can learn more about Anna's work and book a session at her website.  

Aaron Jones is one of the co-hosts of The Leech Podcast, a podcast about movies that suck the life out of you, but may be good for you. Here is their website

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