Bulldog Creative Media Group

Having just finished all four seasons of ATYPICAL, I loved aspects, and disliked others in this series. The good: A wonderful premise. The challenges faced by Sam, his sister, parents, girlfriend, therapist, best friend and others highlight that there is no real "normal", we all face obstacles. Outstanding acting by all the "teens". The stories of sexual awakening, emotional betrayal, disappointment, triumph over loss, are universal and will, "obviously!" resonate. The bad: The young actors are in their 20s, not 16-19 as they are supposed to be. Casey looks squarely mid 20s, and older, not younger than Sam. Neither parent is likable or believable and they come off as poorly written TV comedy props compared to the young actors. Parents of ASD kids are not like this. Rappaport is not likable, Jason Leigh's cutesi-ness is embarrassing given her age. Weak backstories. The show needed fewer ancillary characters, like Beth and Elsa's friends so as to develop the more important stories, like Elsa's relationship with mother, Izzie and mother, Evan and father. Also why aren't Zahid's parents even aware he has cancer? And Grandma never once visited Sam's house.... in four seasons? Evan, the jilted ex turned EMT, seems to drop off the map? Instead of this being Sam's story, by late season 3 to season 4, there only seems to be endless, repetitive drama between Casey and Izzie. The writing: Dumbed down to appeal to a "young adult" audience. The narration by Sam was terrific, but dialogue between family members/boyfriends/girlfriends was often cringeworthy. Some of the best writing was given to Zahid as comic relief. The teen drama: The off/on drama between Casey and Ozzie became tiresome. There were so many other interesting avenues to explore than focus on she-loves-me, she-loves-me-not. The show infantilizes Sam and people with ASD have criticized the show for being a cliche about someone with Aspergers. He is clearly intelligent and resourceful, and would not be so ridiculously out of touch with the vernacular. We need to portray kids like this with more agency. Further, Sam is quite selfish and unlikeable much of the show. While ASD kids do have problems understanding social cues and emotions, Sam frequently comes off as an indulged and spoiled brat, insensitive to his family and girlfriend in particular. People with ASD can be deeply empathic, they are not all wooden as Sam is depicted. We almost never see Sam smile or laugh. Atypical is still worth watching. It has plenty of authentic moments that are touching, and Sam, Paige and Casey seem to drive the heart in this show.