Culture

Ryan O'Connell's "Special" Is Ushering In a New Wave of LGBTQ+ Storytelling


 

Voting for the 2019 Emmys closes on August 29 at 10 PM PST. To highlight some of the year’s worthiest LGBTQ+ nominations, them. is partnering with alumni from the GLAAD Media Institute to run a series of op-eds about the performances and shows that touched us most.

No matter what you call it — peak TV; the golden (or, as others have it, gilded) age of television — it’s clear that we’re living in one of TV’s best eras. A deluge of original content across streaming services and established networks has made finding something enjoyable to watch gleefully simple.

But that also makes it shocking to come across a new show that is truly original. Which is what makes Ryan O’Connell’s Special stand out from the crowd.

In April, Netflix released a slate of new short-form content, with Special leading the pack. With each episode averaging around 15 minutes, the whole series can and should be devoured in just over 2 hours. In less time than it takes to enjoy brunch, you can ugly laugh (and ugly cry) to a story that’s ushering in a new wave of LGBTQ+ storytelling.

Adapted from O’Connell’s autobiography I’m Special: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves, the series follows Ryan as he navigates a coveted internship at a viral online publication, dating within the gay community, and striking out on his own for the first time. Ryan’s story also revolves about coming out of the closet — but coming out about having cerebral palsy, not being gay. After lying by omission to his coworkers about the cause of his limp, Ryan seizes the opportunity to leave his identity as someone afflicted by cerebral palsy behind. He moves out of his mother’s (Jessica Hecht) home, forges actual friendships, and has sex for the first time. Yet his lie only pushes him further and further into the closet about his disability, causing him embarrassment as he feels more and more alone in his body.

Special

O’Connell speaks like he writes, with a spitfire of wit and humor that gets to the heart of what he’s saying in only a few words. Special is chock full of pop culture references, outrageous puns, and jokes you need to rewind immediately to appreciate (“Bleak Lively” will forever be hilarious). Watching him speak is like watching a series of fireworks going off, each more eccentric and creative than the last. His voice is unlike anything else on television, and it should be celebrated for that reason alone.



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