Atypical Information

Atypical is a coming-of-age dark comedy television series created and written by Robia Rashid for Netflix. It focuses on the life of 18-year-old Sam Gardner (Keir Gilchrist), who is on the autism spectrum. The first season was released on August 11, 2017, consisting of eight episodes. The series was generally well received by critics. It was renewed for a ten-episode second season on September 13, 2017.

Plot

Sam Gardner, an 18 year old from Connecticut with autism, announces that he wants to start dating.

His father, Doug, has struggled to connect with Sam and is thrilled when Sam approaches him for advice. When Sam wants to surprise his crush with chocolate-covered strawberries, Doug drives him to her house only to discover that Sam's crush is Julia, Sam's 26 year old therapist. Doug quickly pulls Sam away and tells him to find a girlfriend his own age. Sam decides he needs a "practice girlfriend" and, with the help of his friends and family, begins to learn the social nuances of dating.

As Sam grows more independent, his mother Elsa struggles to find a life outside of being his guardian. During a night out with friends, Elsa meets a bartender and begins an affair with him. Sam's younger sister, Casey, breaks a track-and-field record and receives an athletic scholarship to a prestigious but distant high school. Although she wants to attend, she is nervous about what leaving will mean for Sam. Her concerns are exacerbated when she discovers that Doug abandoned their family for a while after Sam's diagnosis and that Elsa is having an affair.

Meanwhile, Julia finds a strawberry Sam left behind during his visit. She accuses her boyfriend of cheating on her, which leads him to break up with her. After he moves out, Julia discovers that she is pregnant with his child.

Background

The series, originally known as Antarctica, was created and written by Robia Rashid, who previously worked on How I Met Your Mother and The Goldbergs as a producer. For a more accurate portrayal, she consulted with Michelle Dean, a California State University professor who worked at UCLA's Center for Autism Research and Treatment. Gilchrist told in an interview for Vulture, "She [Rashid] wrote the script. We talked a ton and I did research and I watched movies and I read books".

Cast and characters

Main

• Jennifer Jason Leigh as Elsa Gardner, Sam and Casey's mother
• Keir Gilchrist as Sam Gardner, a 18-year-old boy on the autistic spectrum, who is obsessed with Antarctica. Gilchrist said about the character, "He's one person that is on the autism spectrum. He's a very specific character".
• Brigette Lundy-Paine as Casey Gardner, Sam's younger sister
• Amy Okuda as Julia Sasaki, Sam's therapist and love interest
• Michael Rapaport as Doug Gardner, Sam and Casey's father and Elsa's husband

Recurring

• Graham Rogers as Evan Chapin, Casey's boyfriend
• Nik Dodani as Zahid, Sam's best friend, a "dweeby and foul-mouthed lothario"
• Ral Castillo as Nick, a bartender Elsa has an affair with
• Jenna Boyd as Paige Hardaway, Sam's "practice girlfriend"
• Rachel Redleaf as Beth Chapin, Evan's sister

Episodes

Season one

Season one was released on August 11, 2017, consisting of eight episodes.

Episode name	Episode number
"Antarctica"	1
"A Human Female"	2
"Julia Says"	3
"A Nice Neutral Smell"	4
"That's My Sweatshirt"	5
"The D-Train to Bone Town"	6
"I Lost My Poor Meatball"	7
"The Silencing Properties of Snow"	8

Reception

Upon release, Atypical received generally positive reviews by critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the first season received a score of 66, based on 20 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews", and a score of 79% at Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 5.35 out of 10. The acting, especially Gilchrist's performance, was generally well received, but some critics found the series poorly written.

However, Gilchrist's portrayal also received some criticism for being inaccurate and stereotypical. The lack of other autistic people in the series was also questioned.