If You Loved ‘Wayward’, Watch These 15 Similar Shows on Netflix

If ‘Wayward’ kept you hooked with eerie mysteries, shifting realities, and towns full of secrets, there are plenty of Netflix series that line up with that energy. The titles below lean into strange disappearances, supernatural rules that ordinary people must navigate, and puzzles that reward close watching.

Each pick includes what it is about, who made it, and how much you can watch on Netflix. You will find season and episode counts, lead cast members, and production details so you can decide what to start next without any guesswork.

‘Stranger Things’ (2016– )

This series follows a missing boy, an experimental facility, and a parallel dimension known as the Upside Down in the fictional town of Hawkins. It was created by Matt and Ross Duffer and stars Millie Bobby Brown, Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, and Gaten Matarazzo. It is produced by Monkey Massacre Productions and 21 Laps Entertainment for Netflix. The show blends science fiction plots with government coverups and creature threats that spread through the community.

There are multiple seasons available with a total episode count that lets you binge for many hours. Story arcs include the introduction of Eleven, the Mind Flayer conflict, and the formation of the Hawkins group that investigates the town’s spreading anomalies. Each season expands the cast roster and locations while keeping the focus on the mysteries that start beneath Hawkins National Laboratory.

‘Dark’ (2017–2020)

This German series centers on four interconnected families in the town of Winden and a set of time loops that link missing children to a nuclear plant and secret societies. It was created by Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese and stars Louis Hofmann, Lisa Vicari, Andreas Pietschmann, and Maja Schöne. It is produced by Wiedemann and Berg Television for Netflix. The story uses a detailed timeline that repeats across generations as characters attempt to close the loop.

The series runs for three seasons with a complete narrative that tracks characters at different ages through intricate plot charts. Key elements include the caves near Winden, a machine that enables time travel, and a family tree that ties major events together. Episodes provide visual clues and recurring motifs that make rewatching useful for catching connections.

‘1899’ (2022)

Set on a migrant steamship traveling from Europe to the Americas, this mystery follows passengers who encounter an abandoned vessel and a message that changes the voyage. The series was created by Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese and features Emily Beecham, Andreas Pietschmann, Aneurin Barnard, and Miguel Bernardeau. It uses a multilingual ensemble and production designed around a virtual LED stage to create ocean and weather environments for Netflix.

The show spans one season with an arc that links the ship’s manifest to coded signals and a device that controls reality. Episodes reveal background files and symbols tied to each passenger’s past. The plot uses layers of simulation logic, leaving clear markers for how rooms, corridors, and control systems relate to the core puzzle.

‘The OA’ (2016–2019)

This series follows Prairie Johnson, a missing woman who returns with new abilities and a mission to find others who shared her experience. It was created by Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij and stars Brit Marling, Emory Cohen, Jason Isaacs, and Phyllis Smith. The production moves between small town settings, hospitals, and an underground lab, with episodes organized into chapters for Netflix.

Across two seasons the narrative explores near death experiences, a group of local teenagers who assist Prairie, and a scientist who studies interdimensional travel. The show builds a mythos that ties movements, symbols, and a house of many levels to the larger story. The seasons include cliffhangers and metanarrative shifts that reframe earlier events.

‘Ragnarok’ (2020–2023)

This Norwegian series is set in the fictional town of Edda where industrial pollution and strange weather events connect to Norse mythology awakening in modern teenagers. It was created by Adam Price and stars David Stakston, Jonas Strand Gravli, Theresa Frostad Eggesbø, and Herman Tømmeraas. The show is produced for Netflix with location filming that emphasizes fjords and factory sites.

Over three seasons it follows a high school student who realizes he embodies a mythic role while facing a family of powerful antagonists. The plot tracks artifacts, runes, and lineages that map characters to gods and giants. Episodes combine school life, corporate power struggles, and mythic confrontations that escalate as alliances shift.

‘Equinox’ (2020)

This Danish series focuses on a radio host whose sister vanished with an entire school class during a graduation trip. It was created by Tea Lindeburg and stars Danica Curcic, Lars Brygmann, and Karoline Hamm. The production adapts a popular podcast and uses Copenhagen and rural settings to contrast everyday life with a folkloric mystery for Netflix.

One season follows parallel timelines as the protagonist investigates her sister’s case and uncovers rituals linked to Equinox traditions. The story includes a cultlike group, notebooks full of sketches, and a man whose testimony connects to the original disappearance. Episodes lay out visual evidence and interviews that piece together a closed circle of suspects.

‘The Society’ (2019)

This series follows a group of teenagers who return from a school trip to find their town cut off from the outside world with no adults present. It was created by Christopher Keyser and stars Kathryn Newton, Gideon Adlon, Sean Berdy, and Natasha Liu Bordizzo. The show was produced for Netflix with sets that rebuild the town as a self governed community.

The season documents the creation of a charter, resource management, and a justice system that emerges under pressure. Plot threads include food supply tracking, power generation, and the use of old town records to search for clues. The arc ends on discoveries about geography and a possible mirror version of their home.

‘Locke & Key’ (2020–2022)

Based on the comic by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodríguez, this series follows the Locke siblings who move into Keyhouse and discover magical keys that unlock specific powers. It was developed by Carlton Cuse, Meredith Averill, and Aron Eli Coleite and stars Darby Stanchfield, Connor Jessup, Emilia Jones, and Jackson Robert Scott. The production uses a coastal New England setting and practical key props with visual effects for Netflix.

Across three seasons the show catalogs a set of keys that perform functions such as opening memories, altering identity, and traveling through doors. Antagonists seek the keys to release demonic forces tied to the house’s history. Episodes maintain an inventory of keys and keep a clear map of secret rooms, wells, and hidden compartments.

‘Archive 81’ (2022)

This series follows an archivist who restores a set of damaged videotapes that document a filmmaker’s investigation into a mysterious apartment building. It was developed by Rebecca Sonnenshine and stars Mamoudou Athie and Dina Shihabi. The production adapts a found audio podcast into a visual format with tape restoration sequences and building blueprints for Netflix.

One season connects the building to a cult, a symbol language, and rituals that target specific dates and rooms. The narrative alternates between the past recordings and the present day archive facility while aligning camera angles and audio distortions as clues. The season concludes with a location shift that confirms the rules established by the tapes.

‘Midnight Mass’ (2021)

Set on a remote island community, this limited series explores a wave of apparent miracles and a new priest whose arrival coincides with a string of unexplained events. It was created by Mike Flanagan and stars Hamish Linklater, Kate Siegel, Zach Gilford, and Rahul Kohli. The show was produced for Netflix with a focus on ensemble performances and contained locations.

The series runs for seven episodes that build a cause and effect chain between nocturnal incidents and changes in the islanders. It uses church services, town meetings, and medical scenes to document how the phenomena spread. The finale codifies the biological and theological mechanisms that drive the crisis.

‘The Haunting of Hill House’ (2018)

This limited series adapts the Shirley Jackson novel into a story about the Crain family and a mansion whose rooms create overlapping timelines of grief and apparitions. It was created by Mike Flanagan and stars Michiel Huisman, Carla Gugino, Victoria Pedretti, and Oliver Jackson Cohen. The production uses long takes and hidden ghost placements as part of its visual design for Netflix.

The season moves between childhood events in the house and adult consequences years later while listing specific rooms and artifacts that trigger memories. Episodes focus on individual siblings and track how the house’s layout explains certain sightings. The narrative resolves by mapping the house’s Red Room to multiple experiences.

‘The Haunting of Bly Manor’ (2020)

This companion series adapts stories by Henry James into a tale about an American au pair who cares for two children at a countryside estate with a troubled history. It was created by Mike Flanagan and stars Victoria Pedretti, T’Nia Miller, Rahul Kohli, and Amelia Eve. The production reuses a repertory cast and emphasizes character driven hauntings for Netflix.

The limited series connects the estate’s lake, a faceless figure, and a restricted wing to rules that govern who can cross thresholds. Episodes include narrated flashbacks that supply the origin of the haunting and explain recurring symbols. The conclusion documents how memories and ownership bind spirits to the property.

‘Hemlock Grove’ (2013–2015)

Set in a Pennsylvania town, this series investigates murders linked to biotech experiments and a lineage of supernatural families. It was developed by Brian McGreevy, Lee Shipman, and Eli Roth and stars Famke Janssen, Bill Skarsgård, and Landon Liboiron. The production was one of Netflix’s earliest original series and uses practical effects with digital enhancements.

Over three seasons the plot follows transformations, corporate labs, and a friendship that crosses rival families. The show catalogs folklore terms such as upir and tracks medical files that tie incidents to experiments. Episodes include investigations that connect crime scenes to the town’s industrial past.

‘Between’ (2015–2016)

This Canadian co production follows a town placed under quarantine after a disease kills anyone above a certain age. It was created by Michael McGowan and stars Jennette McCurdy, Jesse Carere, and Jim Watson. The series aired on Citytv in Canada with Netflix distributing internationally.

Across two seasons it documents survival strategies that teens organize as services fail and food and power need rationing. Government response is shown through roadblocks, supply drops, and research teams that attempt to find an origin. The narrative uses maps, security footage, and lab reports to track the spread.

‘Travelers’ (2016–2018)

This science fiction series follows operatives from a future timeline who send their consciousnesses into people moments before death to prevent a collapse of civilization. It was created by Brad Wright and stars Eric McCormack, MacKenzie Porter, Jared Abrahamson, and Nesta Cooper. The production began with a Canadian broadcaster before Netflix became the exclusive home.

Over three seasons missions arrive with numerical protocols and cover stories that maintain each host’s life. The team structure includes roles such as tactician, engineer, and historian while a Director AI assigns objectives. The plot records consequences that ripple through the timeline whenever the team changes events.

‘1899’ (2022)

Set on a migrant steamship traveling across the Atlantic, this mystery tracks passengers who encounter a lost vessel and begin to question the nature of their voyage. It was created by Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese and stars Emily Beecham and Andreas Pietschmann among an ensemble cast. The production uses a virtual stage and multilingual dialogue for Netflix.

The single season assembles cabin clues, coordinates, and recurring symbols that form a code behind the ship’s systems. Episodes reveal personal backstories that tie passengers to the central experiment. The conclusion defines the parameters of the simulated environment and resets the context for the final reveal.

Share your favorite pick from the list in the comments and add any other Netflix shows you think fans of ‘Wayward’ should check out.