10 TV Shows That Wasted Brilliant Concepts
1. 13 Reasons Why - Tackling Real Teen Issues (But Butchering Them)
One of the most controversial TV shows ever made, 13 Reasons Why should have been a vital and intelligent viewing experience. Instead, it bungled its themes to a horrifying extreme, and became too wrapped up its controversies to work as an effective drama.
The story of a young woman who commits suicide and then releases tapes to her friends explaining why she killed herself, the show was meant to act as an important and educational take on teen suicide, abuse, sex, addiction and mental health.
But whilst all these themes were front-and-centre, 13 Reasons Why handled them with almost no care. Needlessly violent and unperturbed by its traumatising depiction of suicide and abuse, it watches like one big textbook in how not to portray mental health and teen drama on-screen.
Its performances were always brilliant and its first season has some moments of greatness, but all told 13 Reasons Why wasted the opportunity to make the difference it was clearly aiming for. Stay away.