Netflix dropped I Am Not Okay With This in February 2020, pulling from Charles Forsman’s graphic novel about Sydney Novak, a high schooler wrestling with grief and budding telekinesis.
Sophia Lillis stars as Syd, fresh off IT’s horrors, dealing with her dad’s suicide, a spiky mom Maggie played by Kathleen Rose Perkins, little brother Liam, and her messy feelings for best friend Dina played by Sofia Bryant.
Wyatt Oleff as neighbor Stan rounds out the crew, sparking awkward hookups amid locker room beefs and house-shaking outbursts.
Jonathan Entwistle, hot from The End of the F***ing World, directed every episode, blending It-inspired grit with queer teen vibes and explosive nosebleeds. Shot in Pittsburgh’s sleepy burbs, it nailed 80s nostalgia and flips on modern angst, like pep rallies gone bloody.
Fans dug the raw edge; seven quick episodes built to a homecoming head-pop cliffhanger, teasing a mystery mentor for Syd’s rage-fueled gifts.
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Critics split at 64 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, loving Lillis’s fire but calling the plots familiar next to sex education packs. Quietly greenlit for more pre-premiere, it rode the End of the World buzz.
COVID Cash Crunch Hits Hard
The pandemic wrecked plans. Scripts locked for a tight second and final season, mapping Syd’s power mentor, Dina’s romance fallout, and Stan’s friend-zone woes. Pre-production hummed till shutdowns spiked budgets with daily tests, PPE gear, and protocols, tacking on $5-10 million.
Holdover fees stung too; cast contracts meant big payouts for idle time, blocking Entwistle from other gigs sans the Netflix deal. Strong week one views faded steadily, falling short of the Stranger Things-level splash Netflix craved despite the show’s darker bite.
Official word hit August 21, 2020: scrapped alongside The Society, blaming COVID headaches for ensemble costs and delays. Entwistle begged to tweak the finale sans dialogue, dodging hard cliffhanger pain, but Netflix nixed it. No other streamers grabbed it; timing tanked chances.
Stars Soar, Fans Fume Forever
Lillis crushed it as Gretel in Netflix’s Wednesday, Bryant popped in VH1’s Daytime Divas revival, and Oleff stuck to IT reunions. Entwistle chased Karate Kid: Legends and more Forsman vibes. Netflix shifted to safer bets like sex education spinoffs.
Viewers rage on Reddit, mourning untapped arcs like Brad’s mess aftermath or Dad’s power hints. All seven episodes stream eternally, with cult status growing with sharp dialogue and blood sprays.
COVID flipped TV hard, axing niche gems when big swings ruled. Syd’s scream still echoes; it sucks we never saw her tame the chaos or snag that kiss. One-season wonders hit different, leaving you pissed just like the title.
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