Everything you forgot about ‘Lord of the Flies’ ahead of Netflix show

This isn’t a test, but it would be helpful if you remembered a few things you learned in high school.

Netflix and the BBC have brought literary and English class classic “Lord of the Flies” to our television screens, a deeply relevant story for the complicated and brutal world of 2026. It’s a gripping and superb adaptation that just might make it the best show of the year.

And while it’s a book most of us have likely read and is endlessly referenced in other popular culture, you may not remember the salient details of the story. But don’t worry, from Piggy to a pig’s head on a stick, we break down everything you need to remember about “Flies” before you watch the series. And you really should watch the series.

What to know about ‘Lord of the Flies’ book

Written by English author William Golding and first published in 1954, the novel follows a group of English schoolboys whose plane has crashed on a deserted island amidst a wartime evacuation. Alone without any adults, the boys attempt to organize themselves to get food, water, shelter and fun, electing a chief, Ralph (Winston Sawyers in the new series), and holding meetings where only the boy holding a large conch shell is allowed to talk.

But while they try hard, their camp, democracy and organization quickly fall apart. Tensions emerge between Ralph and Jack (Lox Pratt in the series), a bully obsessed with power over the others. They’re haunted by what they believe to be a mysterious “beast” lurking in the jungle. Eventually the boys split into two camps, paranoia runs rampant and deadly violence ensues. Oh, and at one point, yes, there’s a pig’s head on a stick.

Golding wrote the book in the aftermath of the destruction and evil of World War II, and in direct response to Scottish author R.M. Ballantyne’s “The Coral Island: A Tale of the Pacific Ocean,” an 1858 novel in which the stranded boys are good, civilized and behaved.

What to know about the ‘Lord of the Flies’ TV show

“Flies” debuted on the BBC in the U.K. earlier this year to strong critical reviews, and streams on Netflix on Monday with four episodes. The story is adapted by Jack Thorne, the British writer who tackled similar topics in 2025’s “Adolescence,” which garnered him acclaim and quite a few awards.

The young stars include Sawyers and Pratt as Ralph and Jack, as well as David McKenna as Piggy, Ike Talbut as Simon, Thomas Connor as Roger, Cornelius Brandreth as Maurice, Noah Flemyng as Sam and Cassius Flemyng as Eric. There are also a trove of tiny actors playing boys as young as four or five. A few adult characters appear in flashbacks, portrayed by Rory Kinnear and Daniel Mays.

Why is the ‘Lord of the Flies’ famous?

An instant classic upon its publication, “Flies” is chock full of imagery, metaphor, allegory, symbolism and all those literary devices your high school English teacher wanted you to learn. If you watch the show and think, hey this is a lot like “Yellowjackets” or “The Hunger Games,” you’d be right − “Flies” is a foundational work that similar stories are referencing. Showtime’s “Yellowjackets” specifically takes the format and swaps the gender: What would happen if a group of girls were stranded and left to fend for themselves? The book has also been adapted into feature films multiple times, including a famous 1963 movie directed by Peter Brook and a 1990 film directed by Harry Hook. The Netflix/BBC show is the first television adaptation.

The influence of the novel goes beyond direct homages. Legendary author Stephen King has spoken about how the novel influenced his own work like horror novel “It”(the fictional Maine town of “Castle Rock” that features in some of his other novels is taken from the name of Jack’s fort in “Flies”). Reality TV show “Survivor” is also indirectly inspired by Golding’s world, particularly in its earliest seasons when it was billed as a “social experiment” and its cast members were tasked with “building a new society.” ABC’s supernatural stranded-on-a-deserted-island drama “Lost” (2004-2010) has direct references to the novel.

In spite of its place on lists of the greatest novels of all times, “Flies” also frequently appears and challenged and banned book lists, ostensibly due to its violence and dark themes.