10 Controversies Netflix Wants You To Forget

10. The Atypical Boycott

Atypical was always going to be a challenge. A sitcom centring on a main character with high-functioning autism, it was never going to give a full picture of the condition as there are simply too many variables on the spectrum to put into one character. Still, so long as they handled their subject matter delicately, then it surely could have made a strong case for representation.

Sadly reviewers, many of whom claimed to be on the autism spectrum themselves, slated the show. Sam Gardner, the main character, was claimed to be an offensive stereotype.

Meanwhile, the shows writing was brought to task for how easily it leaned into the stereotypes surrounding autism in order to get cheap laughs, while offering nothing particularly insightful for viewers to understand autism that little bit more. Even worse, so many of the autistic responses in the show aren't classic signs at all, instead being creepy and violent actions that paint Sam as an emerging monster.

When it came to light that Robia Rashid and her writing team hadn't bothered to consult any actual autistic people in their research, the backlash was immediate with many boycotting the show's future seasons unless that changed.