SNAPSHOT
Set in the wake of some major changes in the Gardner family’s natural environment, Sam (Keir Gilchrist) is struggling to adapt to some shifts in his high school friend group. Elsa (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is still trying to earn back the trust of her husband Doug (Michael Rappaport) after having an affair. Meanwhile, Sam’s therapist Julia (Amy Okuda) is still working through last season’s surprise pregnancy while helping her patients get back on track. (synopsis (c) Indiewire)
There are those who like to quip, and quip far more often than is amusing or necessary, that “constant change is here to stay”.
It’s meant to reassure us that all the constant moving around of the established order is normal and natural and we shouldn’t be panicked about it; nice thought but it’s not really all that comforting, even less so if you’re a teenager like Sam, who’s on the autism spectrum and is no fan, despite his and his family’s best efforts, of any kind of change.
Especially the lifechanging kind of which he’s dealing with a pretty sizable amount.
After a stellar season 1, which beautifully articulated how family can be both our anchor and a weight when we’re trying to navigate the messy unpredictability, and in which Keir Gilchrist stole the show with his nuanced performance as Sam, Atypical is back with what looks like another finely-judged series of stories.
Forbes called it “The best show Netflix has ever made” and you know what. they may just be right.
Atypical season 2 premieres 7 September on Netflix.