Binge-watch the show exclusively on Comedy Central
Atypical, a series that revolves around the life of Sam Gardner, a young man who is on the autism spectrum, is all set to enthral the audience of Comedy Central. The viewers will get to see Sam navigating through life all throughout the day. Life is not easy for anyone suffering from ASD, and the storyline makes excellent commentary of the same. The series is majorly focused on the issues Sam faces doing his day-to-day chores, and how despite having ASD, he stands out to be confident and takes risks wherever he sees fit. The show is a satire on the narrow mindset that arises from lack of knowledge and compassion to different ailments and patients suffering from them. It also throws light on things that happen around us.
Let us take a look at what sets Atypical apart from the rest!
Gentle Introduction –
The main character of the show Sam has Autism Spectrum Disorder, and despite that, the makers keep it very simple. They show a young man dealing with ASD while giving details about the ailment and how a person can deal with it with a little bit of support. Sam’s friends and family are always there for him and nurture an open-minded attitude, letting them create a healthy space to discuss the topic of ASD, making it an ideal show to create awareness around it.
Supportive involvement –
It is evident that the actor who played Sam doesn’t have ASD. However, interestingly, most of the supporting cast are dealing with the ailment in reality. The actor used to sit with them and observe their behavioural changes, which led to the perfect depiction of his character. It became a major talk of the town, and later surprised everyone with the exceptional presentation.
Queer Elements-
Apart from ASD, Atypical in many ways deals with different taboos around us, one of them being the concerns of the LGBTQIA+ community. It tells the story of two characters, Casey and Izzie, who are later revealed to be a queer couple. This turned out to be a very fascinating part in the story, where the viewers see Casey as a strong character, who saves Sam many times from different and adverse situations.
Representation of mental illness –
Apart from the representation of autism and the many situations the disorder brings to the table, the show also highlights a particular phase in the life of Sam’s father, Doug. The struggle that he faces every day due to his panic attacks was finely depicted in Atypical. The makers tried their best to portray how to deal with the same and how the family members can be a pillar of support for the ones dealing with issues like anxiety disorder.
Normalcy doesn’t exist –
Atypical shows its viewers the things that are called abnormal, gradually directing the narrative to say that these parts of human life, even though unfamiliar, are truly the way the world normally functions. In fact, during the course of the show, the viewers will realize that Sam’s girlfriend Paige is much more atypical than our lovable protagonist. Her virtue of intelligence is what gets her into trouble time and time again, making her relate to the title of the show which is trying to present to the audience different human psyches and the true meaning of normalcy.
