Wayward, featuring stars Toni Collette and Mae Martin, anticipates leaving fans stunned by their latest Netflix series. But will it be the storyline or the characters that truly catch them off guard? Ultimately, that decision is in the hands of the audience.

In a conversation with DECIDER about their new psychological thriller, crafted and scripted by Martin, the actors delved into the process of developing intriguing characters. This is particularly true for Collette’s character, Evelyn, the calm yet profoundly unsettling headmaster at Tall Pines Academy, the troubled teen center around which the series revolves.

“I found it genuinely intimidating,” the Hereditary star confessed about portraying Evelyn. “She’s incredibly complex, with many aspects of her personality clashing. While she appears quite controlled, she also displays a constantly shifting mood.”

Martin, who plays a police officer who moves to the sleepy Vermont town where the school is with their wife (Sarah Gadon) at the start of the show, said that for them, it was a multi-layered struggle to make the series work. On top of Wayward being inspired by a real-life friend and taking six years to develop, crafting the perfect tone for a show tackling teen troubles and possible supernatural themes. That’s why, Martin says, fans will feel inspirations of other shows and movies in the project.

“That’s all you want. I feel like all I ever want is for things to stay with people. And when I watch things, I want images and characters to really stay with me. There are moments from Twin Peaks that will be with me my whole life, that are really dreamlike and kind of tap into some universal subconscious,” they said.

“But also Rosemary’s Baby and Get Out — and Stand By Me is my favorite movie of all time. The performances of those kids, you know, the pacing, these long two shots where they’re walking, their timing’s incredible, and then seeing them break down,” Martin continued, “If you’re going to write about young people, you want to truly feel it like that.”

Check out DECIDER’s full interview with Collette, Gadon, and below.

DECIDER: I want to start with Toni: I’ve been describing your character as unsettlingly comforting. How did you first read this character and then approach bringing her to life?

TONI COLLETTE: I found it really intimidating, to be honest. I mean, I think that’s a really good description. She is so complicated and there are so many elements of her that just butt up against each other. She’s quite controlled but there is a bit of an ever-changing mood. And as things start to kind of elevate, her veneer starts to crack a little and more and more as revealed. What a fascinating human. Let’s put it that way.

Mae, I feel the inspirations watching this show, tonally, script-wise. I’m wondering when you first started to put pen to paper, what really was the premise that kept circling in your mind?

MAE MARTIN: That’s a great question. I think the heart of it, in its germination, was that friendship between Abby and Lyla and just remembering my teens and how intense those friendships were and beautiful. And, thinking you can put teenage girls in a life and death situation and they would still get the giggles, like there’s a kind of hysteria that I really miss, and a sense of the absurdity of the world and the hypocrisy of the adults around you. So that was the essence. And then tonally?

Were there any inspirations? I personally kept feeling a very David Lynch vibe.

MARTIN: Yes. That’s all you want. I feel like all I ever want, I mean, is for things to stay with people. And when I watch things, I want images and characters to really stay with me. There are moments from Twin Peaks that will be with me my whole life, that are really dreamlike and kind of tap into some universal subconscious. So of course, that’s the dream, but also Rosemary’s Baby and Get Out — and Stand By Me is my favorite movie of all time. The performances of those kids, you know, the pacing, these long two shots where they’re walking, their timing’s incredible, and then seeing them break down and there’s a scene where Gordie Lachance says, “My dad hates me,” breaks down. If you’re going to write about young people, you want to truly feel it like that. So that was an inspiration.

I also want to ask Toni and Sarah, how much did you guys know coming into this when you first got the scripts? Because I loved the veil of ignorance that we go through as the audience. How did your perception of your character change, as you learned more?

COLLETTE: I think I got three scripts initially to read.

MARTIN: Is that it?

COLLETTE: Yeah. Well, before I signed on. And then I kind of begged for more. Yeah, but I was hooked. It did hook me in. It’s entirely fascinating. I guess the story, every character and the entire town evolve in such a way that is so exposing and so, so disturbing that it helps. It really, as it opens up, helps you kind of identify more and more with the truth of each character.

SARAH GADON: I think when Mae sent the scripts, Mae also kind of sent a note along with it being like, “Okay, so I know she seems like this, but she’s not.”

MARTIN: She’s not.

COLLETTE: She’s going way over there.

GADON: And you [Martin] were like, I like that you play characters like that. And I think that was like, “Oh damn, you got my number. I do like that.” I just love women who, on the surface, seem to present to the world one way and then are just really not.

COLLETTE: Ditto.

MARTIN: Particularly with Laura in those first few episodes, it’s kind of a you’re kind of seeing her through Alex’s fantasy of her being this damsel in distress. But then I wanted to let Sarah know that that’s not where that character goes.

COLLETTE: That changes.

MARTIN: There’s a real power struggle.

GADON: And Mae is super charismatic, when they send you a note like that, you’re like, “Agh, I have to do that.”

MARTIN: I love that.

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All eight episodes of Wayward are now streaming on Netflix.