That dumb word again: It’s important because of the spotlight it gives to the disabled community, with a moving and insightful storyline in season two featuring a disabled support group. It chronicles his attempts at dating and having a sex life, his possibly codependent relationship with his mother (Jessica Hecht), and his attempts to accept the ways in which his life is and isn’t defined by his cerebral palsy. The series has essentially the same logline. The comedy is created by and stars Ryan O’Connell, a comedy writer in Los Angeles who gained fame and critical attention with the release of his memoir I’m Special: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves, about his experience as a millennial gay man living with cerebal palsy. But it’s also one of those series that is doing important storytelling-that word oss.-in so many different ways that focusing on just one does a disservice to the others. Special is one of those TV series that is “important,” which sounds so insufferable and pretentious-especially because the Netflix show, which returned for season two this week, is anything but that. To receive the full newsletter in your inbox each week, sign up for it here. T his is a preview of our pop culture newsletter The Daily Beast’s Obsessed, written by senior entertainment reporter Kevin Fallon.
