Atypical, a new Netflix show about a family that includes a high school boy with autism, is drawing mixed reviews, writes Mark Walsh on Education Week.
The show “is so close to great,” says the Atlantic. Entertainment Weekly calls it “heartwarming,” “very human,” and full of “affection for its messy, relatable characters.” Forbes calls it “the best show Netflix has ever made.” But USA Today deemed it “saccharine” and “predictable.” Salon called it “offensive,” with “a dull plot and strictly stock main character.”
The Guardian complains of too many autism 101 lectures.
“Characters with disabilities are somewhat in vogue on TV these days,” Walsh observes. ABC’s Speechless, which features a teen with cerebral palsy, is played by an actor with the condition. ABC is launching The Good Doctor, about a surgeon with autism and savant syndrome.