Big Neurodivergent Energy Shows: 1-5

What do I mean by Big Neurodivergent Energy shows? It’s not just an abundance of ND-coded characters (in my case, autistic and/or ADHD,) although that’s definitely a factor. It’s something in the bones of the show itself. I don’t usually know why—maybe one or more of the creatives behind the camera are neurodivergent, knowingly or otherwise. But whatever the reason, something deep in the show feels so neurodivergent. It feels like home, it feels like me. I’ve loved all kinds of shows over the years, but many of these are the ones that really seep into my soul and don’t let me go.

By the way, when I first got the idea to do a Top Five post on this, I came up with seven shows. Rather than cut two of them out, at first I thought I’d just sit on it until I came up with enough for a Top Ten, because I couldn’t bear to exclude any of them. But then suddenly I had fourteen! So, this post is going to recur in new batches of five whenever I feel like it, because every show with Big Neurodivergent Energy needs to be celebrated!

For this first five, a few particular commonalities emerged: 1) People who are weird and broken are still beautiful and deserving of love. 2) Grace, kindness, and forgiveness can be extended regardless of whether someone has “earned” it. And 3) life can be harsh and small and suffocating, but we can reenvision life and try to make our own version of it. Lovely principles to stand by!

 

Doctor Who

I love, love, love that every incarnation of the Doctor feels AuDHD, but their neurodivergence looks a little different with each regeneration. From Ten’s repetition of words to Eleven’s constant stimming to Twelve’s bluntness, the Doctor demonstrates the many varied possibilities of autism and ADHD within a single character. I love that so much, and I love that, in their travels over the centuries, they’ve been able to meet so many people who appreciate those qualities in them. The Doctor is the walking, talking embodiment of the notion that life needs to be lived on your own terms rather than by any list of “rules” that you’re told you’re supposed to follow.

 

Our Flag Means Death

This is the show that helped me realize that so many of my favorite fictional couples are autistic- and/or ADHD-coded. Stede and Ed’s romance plays out in such a beautiful, unconventional, neurodivergent way, and I just love that they adore the things in one another that other people denigrate. And beyond the central pairing, the whole ship is bursting with neurodivergent swag. Just as the Revenge is a safe, welcoming place to be queer, it’s also a place that invites all sorts of minds. Everyone on the crew gets to be exactly who they are, and that makes me so happy!

 

Parks and Recreation

Leslie Knope, my AuDHD-coded queen! She’s the one steering the ship, but the whole Parks and Rec department radiates neurodivergent vibes. I love the beautifully autistic romance between Leslie and Ben, and I love that, while Ron and Leslie are so different on the surface, their minds still resonate with one another and contribute to their lovely friendship. I appreciate this show for every binder and scrapbook, every repeated meal of waffles, and every bluntly deadpan retort.

 

Pushing Daisies

I was a big fan of other shows before this—I was really into Lost and the early seasons of How I Met Your Mother, and Breaking Bad started around the same time—but Pushing Daisies is the first show that, like, consumed my soul. Everything about it just felt made for me, from the delicious wordplay to the whimsical settings to the oddball characters with their heady blend of sweetness, sadness, and sharpness. Pushing Daisies is the first show I loved that sent me racing to IMDb, not just to check out the actors, but to check out the showrunner. I thought, This is my show. I need to see more of what this mind created.

 

Ted Lasso

This is an interesting case for me. Even though it’s loaded with quirky characters, has found-family vibes coming out its ears, and I knew I loved it in my soul, its Big Neurodivergent Energy crept up on me. None of the characters struck me as autistic- and/or ADHD-coded at first (I know, right? Beard???) But then, as I was picking up on the pattern that so many shows I’ve deeply loved feel hella neurodivergent, I started wondering if any of the characters on Ted Lasso could fit into my headcanons. And as I looked, I soon realized I was hard-pressed to find one who didn’t exude neurodivergence. Roy’s flat facing, growling, and frank honesty has my heart, but I also love Ted’s people pleasing and empathy, Keeley’s tendency to abandon words when she’s excited, and Dani yelling his own name as a verbal stim. And I really like the message that everyone has their broken parts, but 1) that doesn’t mean they’re incapable of change and 2) they don’t need to “fix” themselves before being worthy of grace and love.

Doctor Who: Season 1, Episode 8 – “Empire of Death” (2024)

*Spoilers for “The Legend of Ruby Sunday.” As far as this episode goes, I won’t discuss any of the big plot stuff until a later post, but you’re avoiding any talk of the finale, look away now.*

Okay, it’s the season finale! Did they do it??? Partially, I’d say. It’s the sort of gigantic episode where, while I was watching it, I was kind of awash in the excitement and big moments and emotions of everything, so the “wait—huh?” moments didn’t fully set in until later.

At the end of “The Legend of Ruby Sunday,” we didn’t discover the identity of Ruby’s birth mom, but we did get a major revelation about the mysterious woman the Doctor and Ruby keep seeing everywhere. In 2024 London, she’s a tech billionaire known as Susan Triad. But her fate is tied up with the reason the TARDIS has been making strange noises lately. It’s acquired a dark passenger: Sutekh, the Osiran who’s claimed the title of God of Death. Susan may think she’s just Susan, but she’s actually one of Sutekh’s “angels” of devastation. With Sutekh out to conquer life as we know it, it’s up to the Doctor, Ruby, and Mel to desperately search for a way to defeat him.

There are definite issues with this episode. I’ll get into the specifics on another day, but the handwaviness is strong with this one. Certain moments feel a little too manufactured, trying to force significance beyond their merit. Like many an RTD finale, this one goes BIG!!! In ways that are simply too much at times, reaching unsustainable stakes that would be all but impossible to give a truly satisfying conclusion to.

And yet, I still liked huge portions of the episode quite a lot. In terms of RTD finales, I’d probably rank it second or third, depending on whether we’re counting “The Giggle” as a finale. As usual, all my love to Fifteen and Ruby, always and forever, and I’ve loved Mel’s return throughout. The acting is stellar—Ncuti Gatwa, Millie Gibson, and Bonnie Langford all have incredible scenes at different points.

There’s just a lot of emotion going on here. The Doctor’s reaction to Sutekh and the reveal of his plan is devastating, and I like how he and the companions find a way to continue on in the face of such immense destruction. There’s a beautiful, bleak little interlude that I love, with a character who shows us the full reach of Sutekh’s power—throughout the scene, I kept trying to place the actress, and I was stunned afterward to realize it was Sian Clifford, who played Claire on Fleabag! Obviously, the threat of Sutekh is the biggest headline here, but the question of Ruby’s mom is still important, and Ruby goes through it in her own way. While I think there are some issues with how this storyline is handled, Gibson plays it wonderfully.

Oh, and apart from the big-ticket stuff like Sutekh and Mel, this is an episode with all kinds of nostalgic callback goodness. It has a ton of little touches that are brought out in a way that really makes sense, and they add to the episode without taking away from the scenes.

So that’s the end of the Fifteenth Doctor’s first season! I’ll have plenty more spoilery thoughts to share in the weeks to come, in between reviews of old Whoniverse episodes. For now, I’ll just say that I love these characters so much. I love the creativity and variety in the storylines and settings. There’s stuff that’s corny or illogical or unexplained, but on the whole, I still had a really great time. Now to come to terms with the fact that there’s really no more until Christmas!

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024, R)

I’ve been excited but apprehensive for this movie. Fury Road is such an incredible film, and Furiosa is an amazing character. The trailer for this prequel looked pretty cool, and I like both Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth, but I wasn’t sure if it could live up to the brilliant film that preceded it.

As a child, Furiosa is stolen from her home in the Green Place and taken across the Wasteland, where she’s held captive by the unhinged warlord Dementus. He and his gang are amazed by her health and vitality in a world full of “half-lives,” but she refuses to reveal the location of her home of abundance. When Dementus barters her to Immortan Joe, Furiosa does whatever she needs to survive, all the while dreaming of escaping back to the Green Place.

I really liked this movie. I haven’t seen any of the pre-Fury Road films in the franchise, but I love this world. It’s a series where the ensemble is just so important. In what’s maybe a weird analogy, it’s like a Broadway show where the dancing is on another level (looking at you, Newsies!) The main characters are all strong, but the minor characters and nameless extras add so much. I love any and all War Boy content, and we get plenty of epic fights against the war rig. I like the History Man who serves Dementus, defining words for him and holding onto the last remnants of knowledge from before the apocalypse, and I really like Smeg, who acts out Dementus’ speeches for him.

Unsurprisingly, the design is fantastic. The action is cool and hard-hitting, and the world-building is both overt and understated at once—everything we see onscreen is very obviously intentional, but not much is explained, leaving us to simply let this world and its characters wash over us.

The only place the film really falls flat for me is as a prequel to Fury Road. And again, I haven’t seen any other Mad Max films, so maybe I have no room to gripe. But I love Fury Road so much. I remember sitting on the edge of my seat in the theater, crying in the third act, and feeling invincible when I stepped outside afterwards. Fury Road is high-octane and brutal and brilliant. To me, Furiosa has a lot of the right pieces, but they don’t come together in the same gut punch for me. I think much of the disconnect is probably due to the Wives. I like the very specific focus and mission of Fury Road, and I like the rise and fall of hope as Furiosa, Max, and Nux fight to give these women the lives that have been taken from them. Furiosa’s story isn’t as tight, and I don’t feel it has as much to say. Which isn’t to say it’s just mindless entertainment—there are definitely hard-hitting scenes, and the final confrontation between Furiosa and Dementus is a thing of beauty. But more than anything, this time around, I left the theater wanting to watch Fury Road again.

Before this film came out, I wouldn’t have thought to cast Anya Taylor-Joy as Furiosa, but she turns in a strong performance, channeling Charlize Theron’s excellent work without feeling like just an imitation. Chris Hemsworth is wild and kind of fascinating as Dementus—it’s a performance I haven’t seen from him before, and I really like what he does here. Tom Burke also does a really nice job as Praetorian Jack, who drives the war rig, and I feel like this film gives us a little more of Immortan Joe, played here by Lachy Hulme. Finally, big shoutout to Charlee Fraser, who plays Mary, Furiosa’s absolute badass of a mom.

Warnings

Copious violence (included references to sexual violence,) gore, disturbing images, language, strong thematic elements, and disabled characters played by nondisabled actors.