One of Netflix’s Best Sci-Fi Shows Packs a Punch in Only One Season

The teen sci-fi show I Am Not Okay With This, developed by Jonathan Entwistle and Christy Hall, was released on Netflix in 2020. The show found an audience and was originally renewed for a second season, but Netflix later canceled it due to the added expenses that would’ve come with filming during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although it only lasted a single seven-episode season, I Am Not Okay With This is still one of Netflix’s strongest shows thanks to the lead performance by Sophia Lillis and how brutally it captures being an awkward, closeted teen. While it would’ve been great to get a second season with these characters, the ending is climactic enough that the show works as essentially a miniseries.

‘I Am Not Okay With This’ Updates a Classic Premise

The premise of I Am Not Okay With This is simple: a teenage closeted lesbian discovers she has telekinetic powers. Although it’s actually based on a graphic novel by Charles Forsman, audiences will immediately notice the similarities to Stephen King’s Carrie, down to the fact that the climactic scene in the finale takes place at a school dance. The series opens with a flash forward to the ending, showing the protagonist in a prom dress and covered in blood. After that glimpse of Carrie-esque iconography, the voiceover declares, “I’m a boring 17-year-old white girl.” The opening seems to be confronting the audience with an awareness of how well-trod the misfit teen girl with telekinetic powers concept is. The show proceeds to set itself apart by digging into the protagonist’s inner life with well-observed emotional resonance.

Sophia Lillis (Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves) gives an incredible performance as the protagonist, Sydney Novak. She embodies Sydney with an awkwardness that makes the audience root for her to come out of her shell and embrace her extraordinary power. Sydney navigates messy relationships with her best friend, Dina (Sofia Bryant), and a boy who she considers dating, Stan Barber (Wyatt Oleff). Between these two primary relationships, the show boldly explores the tightrope closeted teens navigate. Because of the show’s cancelation, the will-they-won’t-they between Sydney and Dina is never resolved.

Sophia Lillis’ Best Movies and TV Shows, According to Rotten Tomatoes

Sophia Lillis’ star is rising, having plenty of blockbusting roles under her name.

‘I Am Not Okay With This’ Explores Deep Emotional Territory

I Am Not Okay With This takes place one year after the death of Sydney’s father, who Sydney discovers had similar powers to the ones she is developing. In this way, the emotional plotline and the sci-fi mystery are connected. She’s deeply affected by the fact that her father is no longer around, and she can’t ask him for guidance. Not only is this a complication for the character, but the twist allows the sci-fi mystery to serve as a metaphor for how confusing and scary it can be to navigate your teen years without anyone to talk to who’s been through the same things you’ve been through.

The series smartly includes moments of small joy with Sydney and her friends, so anger and trauma hit harder. It captures that when you’re a lonely teen, the small wins feel incredible in a sea of devastating losses. In this way, it sometimes feels more comparable to Freaks and Geeks than to other sci-fi shows. The teen drama aspect is so good you’ll sometimes forget you’re watching a sci-fi show, but when the telekinetic powers come into play, it makes for incredible television.

Despite having only seven episodes, I Am Not Okay With This is well worth watching. While there are many stories of awkward young women discovering supernatural powers, this one stands out because of the explicit queer themes and the phenomenal performance from Sophia Lillis. The series finale includes a wild sci-fi climax that leaves viewers satisfied even without a second season.