The Society is a mystery/teen drama on Netflix that is exploring a town named West Ham, located in Connecticut. All the adults in town have suddenly disappeared, leaving the kids in charge of rebuilding their society. West Ham finds itself surrounded by a mysterious forest for thousands of miles. Local calling and texting work, but the teenagers find themselves cut off from the rest of the world. Created by Christopher Keyser (Party of Five), the show premiered on May 10 with all 10 episodes available for streaming.
In this world where teenagers start to make up the rules as they go along and conjure up chaos, it is important to keep hope alive. One character who tends to be the peacemaker and positive enforcer for the group is the religious Helena (Natasha Liu Bordizzo).
“I think it became less about God and more about keeping that group calm and hopeful for the future because there is no hope, and I think that’s what causes people to party, to take drugs, have sex, go wild, and she’s like, ‘We should just stay calm and take care of each other,’” said Bordizzo.
God and faith is a touchy subject for those who believe the end is near, but Helena has a way of using hope to push on.
“She uses the church as a vehicle to inspire that message,” explained Bordizzo. “Instead of talking about God, she’s talking about things in a place of faith, and just camaraderie and bringing everyone together.”
Although Helena is a representation of faith, she might finally cross the line to a breakdown.
“I think she’s kind of staying calm the whole of season one,” said Bordizzo. “That’s going to reach a breaking point, I think. She was kind of getting there towards the end of season one, but I want her to snap for season two because I think that would be fun.”
Last month, a season two was officially announced for The Society. Bordizzo wants each and every character to reach their full potential in the next season.
“Everyone’s just completely stripped down selves because I think we’re still able to hold it together and put on their clothes and put on the make-up and just kind of go through life in a still pretty controlled way, but I think war could break out in the future because it’s already getting that way with the coup and the takeover, so I’m excited for it get even more wild,” said Bordizzo.
Season one of The Society is available now on Netflix.