# Special (2019)

> A gay man with cerebral palsy fakes a more acceptable identity as an accident victim to chase the life he wants.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/74057

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 16
- Episode runtime: 25 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy, drama
- Created by: Ryan O'Connell
- Network: Netflix
- Cast: Ryan O'Connell, Punam Patel, Jessica Hecht, Augustus Prew, Marla Mindelle, Patrick Fabian, Samantha Lee, Brian Jordan Alvarez
- TMDB rating: 7.6/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9381622/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: none
- Tone: irreverent, heartfelt, witty, candid, bittersweet

## What critics say

Audiences rate the series positively, praising its candid, witty take on disability, sexuality and family while finding the comedy uneven across its short run.

## Synopsis

Special (2019-2021) is an American Netflix comedy-drama series created by Ryan O'Connell, adapted from his own memoir-based novel. Ryan Hayes (Ryan O'Connell) is a gay writer in his late twenties with mild cerebral palsy who decides to reinvent himself as an accident victim so he can stop being seen through the lens of his disability and finally pursue the life he wants. Ryan's overbearing but loving mother Karen (Jessica Hecht) and his friend Kim Laghari (Punam Patel) push and prod him through his romantic misadventures, his job hunt and his efforts to build independence in Los Angeles. The engine of each episode is simple: Ryan tests a new identity, dating scene or career move, and the fallout exposes the gap between his public image and private longing. Across two seasons of eight half-hour episodes each, the show stays a tight, character-driven story rather than a case-of-the-week format. Set in contemporary Los Angeles, it has a candid, witty and heartfelt register, with frank sexual content and sharp self-deprecating humor about disability and desire. Fans of Please Like Me, Everything's Gonna Be Okay and Looking will find resonance in its irreverent, intimate voice.

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