By Shagun Agarwal
“Adelie, Chinstrap, Emperor, Gentoo, Adelie, Chinstrap, Emperor, Gentoo”. I’m going to start off with the names of these four Antarctic penguins because it’s stressful to write a review on this show, one which does it enough justice.
Atypical is a TV show which has miraculously been able to balance out (very subtly) something as sensitive as portraying the life of an 18 year old who lives on the autism spectrum and how he deals with “neurotypicals” in a non-problematic manner (phew), while at the same time engross us with very relatable (and very exciting) teenage love problems. It’s a brilliant show- no doubt, because the creative team has Seth Gordon from Horrible Bosses as a director and producer, and Robia Rashid from television’s How I Met Your Mother as a producer and writer.
Even though the show is only two seasons in, it’s the first show I’ve seen in a long time that actually makes me want to keep watching it; and doesn’t leave me feeling uneasy or sad. Atypical risks offending some, but it does more good than harm by demystifying a sensitive and painful subject with an unapologetic candor.
Sam (our adorably-charming protagonist) lives with his younger sister Casey (who is an athletics champ, and also super hot btw), his mom Elsa (who’s a hairdresser and also Spoiler alert- cheats on the dad with a bartender, whoops!) and father Doug. Sam’s really passionate about life in Antarctica, probably even knows more than all of us combined. His yearbook quote goes “I’ll never forget what it feels like to be a father” because he adopted a baby penguin!
The show revolves around how Sam goes through his ups and downs, along with innumerable misadventures in school. He has his friend Zahid, who’s “the wisest man he knows”, and is always helping him out with “girl-trouble” and giving him easy tips on how to deal with life around him. The second season focuses on how Sam courageously deals with life around him, from shifting to College from school, changing his therapist (who Spoiler alert-he thought he was in love with), and falling in love with someone.
What I particularly enjoy about this show is that it also explores not just his life but how his being on the autism spectrum affects the people around him. In an interview for a new school, his sister Casey says that when she was much younger, she thought that NT’s (neurotypicals) actually meant the word “empties” since Sam took up so much space, all the people around him had to be empty. Along with Sam, the family members have their own story line, you can see them growing along with Sam!
But with approximately one-in-one-thousand people on the Autism spectrum, Atypical can be helpful in dealing with the misconceptions that invariably spring up around this topic. From tiny things like talking in a “people-first” language to helping us breakdown the artificial divisions of “us” and “them”.
With each episode lasting around 35 minutes, I’d definitely say that even if you spend 630 minutes (the total time of all episodes from season one and two) of your life binge-watching this, you definitely won’t regret it. It’s a really entertaining and funny series with likeable characters who are all too human.
Tabeer 