Netflix's newest dark comedy, Sirens, has left viewers hypnotized with its summery and somewhat cultish vibes. The series, which takes place on an island in New England over Labor Day weekend, premiered on May 22, 2025, and quickly entered the streaming service's list of Top 10 shows in the U.S. Life & Style breaks down everything fans need to know about the series, including the cast, the episode guide and the plot.
Sirens is a limited series with only five episodes in the first season. Each episode runs for about 50 to 60 minutes, with the finale having a runtime of one hour and three minutes.
What Is 'Sirens' on Netflix About?
Sirens follows Buffalo, New York, native Devon as she travels to the picturesque New England island of Port Haven to find her sister, Simone, and beg for help with caring for their ill father, Bruce. However, when Devon arrives at Simone's workplace - a stunning mansion called Cliff House and owned by tech billionaire Peter and his socialite wife, Michaela - she begins to feel uneasy about her sister's situation.
Simone works for Michaela, whom she calls "Kiki," as her assistant, but they have an unusually close relationship that blurs the lines of professionalism. Furthermore, Devon suspects that Kiki's wildlife preservation group is really a bird-obsessed cult and that Kiki murdered Peter's ex-wife. Devon makes it her mission to infiltrate Kiki's group and get her sister out of there, but Kiki won't let Simone leave without a fight - and her unusually captivating charm may draw Devon in before she can have a chance to make her escape.
Is Netflix's 'Sirens' About Mermaids?
Though Sirens takes place at a seaside mansion, it is not about mermaids. However, it does take inspiration from the Greek mythology of sirens, which are half-woman, half-bird sea creatures that are often confused with mermaids. According to Greek mythology, sirens used their enchanting voices to lure sailors to their doom, which often led to shipwrecks. Sirens famously appear in Homer's Odyssey.
While no one has magical siren powers in Netflix's Sirens, the series draws from the myth through its bird imagery, as well as through Kiki's social charm, which she has used to build what Devon believes to be a cult. In some scenes, she even seemingly puts her "followers" into a "trance" when she speaks. Other women throughout the series, including Simone and Devon, are also seen as having some sort of power over others, especially men.
However, according to showrunner Molly Smith Metzler, viewers should look at it from a different perspective.
"Women - especially women like Michaela, Simone, and Devon - are villainized, or cast as seductresses, or they're beautiful, or they're cast as monsters, but who's to say they're the sirens? What is a monster?" she told Tudum. "In Greek mythology, the sirens are only described by the sailors. We don't ever know the sirens' point of view."
She added, "We call these women monsters in the myth, but for all we know, they're just singing for help. In the original myth, they're there because they're being punished. They're trapped. They're unhappy. It's a cry for help. All these sailors crash their own stupid ship. And then they're like, 'It's because of these beautiful maidens.'"