ABC strengthens its comedy lineup, and possibly the world, by adding a powerful new voice with Speechless.
Cards on the table. I’m not sure what I would have done if I hadn’t liked Speechless. I’ve had some serious ‘rep sweats’ from the moment I heard this show was going to exist. Rep sweats is a term Jenny Yang initially coined for the Asian community, but it so seamlessly applied to all those underrepresented minorities that the lingo has spread into other groups.
“[Asians] are so invisible,” she stated on Flavorwire, “every time you have the opportunity to see yourself on TV, you hold your breath.” And I assure you, I was doing a lot of breath holding in the lead up to the Speechless premiere.
Maya DiMeo is a mom on a mission who will do anything for her husband, Jimmy, and kids Ray, Dylan, and J.J., her eldest son with cerebral palsy. As Maya fights injustices both real and imagined, the family works to make a new home for themselves and searches for just the right person to give J.J. his “voice.”
After watching the first episode, I hesitate to say that the show centers on J.J. or even defines him as the leading character. Although it’s his story that invokes the ‘situation’ in this sitcom, the characters share an equal amount of screen time and it’s first and foremost a show about a family.
This was an incredibly smart move on Scott Silveri’s part — the show’s creator and executive producer. You can see his personal connection to the disability community (growing up, his brother had special needs) in a variety of ways, most notably in how J.J. doesn’t exist to teach the audience anything. He just, you know, exists.
There’s a special kind of heartbreak that takes place when you have to report on a disappointing portrayal of someone in your community. I’ve been there more times than I’d like to count, but you can’t give things a free pass simply because you want them to succeed. Unfortunately, one bad show can curse an entire community and set progress back decades, and that’s why the rep sweats kick in.
Related: Me Before You: A disappointing depiction of what it means to be disabled
Luckily, we’re arriving at a time when one minority’s success can be a win for another minority as well. Programs like Black-ish and Fresh off the Boat aren’t just paving the way for shows in their own communities; they’re trailblazing for every minority fighting for representation.
Speechless is clearly sowing the oats of their labor, while trailblazing a path of their own. Not that this show doesn’t have to stand on its own two legs (yes, I made a he-can’t-walk pun, but I can do that because I’m also wheelchair-bound), but it probably wouldn’t have even been greenlit without creators being able to point to those other shows and say, “See! Their risk paid off! We can do that, too!”
Do I think their risk paid off? Well, so far so good.
The show’s first win came before a moment of footage was put on screen. That’s because Speechless did the unthinkable and hired Micah Fowler as J.J. DiMeo. An actor with cerebral palsy portraying a character with CP as well? Shame upon all of us, but this occurrence is virtually unheard of in Hollywood. The trans community frequently suffers a similar injustice and hopefully together we can keep pushing back against a great prejudice of our generation.
Not only is it remarkable that Fowler was cast in the first place, but his performance was pretty remarkable as well. Whatever I do, it’s going to sound like I’m pandering to or pushing a certain agenda — and full disclosure because I’m totally hoping Fowler’s success leads to more disabled actors nabbing roles — but I’m not completely shameless and I wouldn’t give compliments that weren’t due.
Just upon the nature of his own unique physical attributes, Fowler brings such a nuanced portrayal to J.J. Even without a single line of dialogue (I’d love to see how his scenes are written in scripts), he hits his comedic beats perfectly, laughing, grimacing, rolling his eyes, and using his unique physicality to breathe life into the character. Just as any good actor or actress would do. I mean, if you can go toe to toe with Minnie Driver right out of the gate, something special is going on there.
Apart from knowing Fowler was cast, and before I actually saw his performance on screen, there wasn’t much to initially draw me to this show. In all honesty, family sitcoms aren’t really my thing. I was strong-armed into watching Modern Family back when the general public was still scandalized Cam and Mitchell might be treated as equal a couple as Phil and Claire. And like everyone else, I loved the show — for a while.
Eventually Modern Family lost its novelty, the weekly hijinks became repetitive, and I went back to my dramas and dark comedies. In general, I just don’t think I’m much of a sitcom person. I haven’t properly picked up shows like Black-ish or Fresh off the Boat even though I’m constantly on the lookout for and championing diversity in TV.
What I’m saying is, I was a hard sell simply because this isn’t my natural sweet spot for entertainment. But the first episode of Speechless really held up for me, and I’m anticipating what’s to come.
I had a few problems with a couple story choices. In particular, the overeager school body that’s obsessed with inclusion and celebrates J.J.’s every move. Unfortunately, it yanked me right out of the show and made it clear this is a fictional world in a stylized environment. I understand that the heightened sense of reality is being used for laughs and pokes at the underbelly of “inspiration porn,” but it felt both unnecessary and counterproductive to what the show is trying to do, which is normalize families who happen to have a disabled child among them.
This larger than life scale for humor’s sake falls flat for me and is probably why I struggle with the sitcom genre in general. I won’t rag on a show for being what it is; I just hope the series doesn’t rest too heavily on this premise because it doesn’t need too. The disabled community has plenty of real world issues that can be used for jokes while making things come off as more grounded and authentic.
Speechless’ real highlight is its tone. This show clearly isn’t going to be some thinly veiled weekly PSA about wheelchair-bound people. In fact, I bet as time progresses J.J.’s wheelchair is going to fade more and more into the background. Not because he’ll be any less disabled or his family will have fewer challenges to overcome, but because he’ll simply be a kid trying to make it through life with his chaotic family in tow — just like his siblings Ray and Dylan.
J.J.’s disability is a component to this family’s dynamic, but something tells me that they’d be just as outlandish, silly, and dramatic with or without a handicapped son. And that’s exactly why the series shines. It puts this family first and refrains from placing J.J. on some pedestal. I hope it continues this trend.
I also hope we get more interaction between J.J. and his aide Kenneth (Cedric Yarbrough), who I’ve failed to mention up until this point simply because I predict his best stuff has yet to come. There’s a really interesting dynamic that takes place between an aide and their charge. Not only does an assistant have to gel with their client, but they’ll ultimately form relationships with everyone their client interacts with.
When you require physical assistance for your daily needs, you and your family are essentially adopting a new person into the fold. And as you’ll see in the Speechless pilot, not everyone is a perfect fit. Not only will Kenneth need to be J.J.’s voice, he’ll also need to know when to take a backseat. It’s a tricky line to walk (*wink wink*), and one I don’t think a lot of people would be aware of. It’s one of those very niche experiences that a lot of people will still deeply relate to — AKA the reason shows like Speechless need to be on air in the first place.
I’m genuinely interested to see where things go from here. Despite this show not being a genre I’m typically drawn to, Speechless has something that no other show on TV has: someone who looks remotely like me. At a distance, it must seem like such a superficial and conceited way to watch a show, but in reality it speaks to what every individual wants, which is to be seen, to be represented, and to have their stories told.
If done with respect and integrity, what you’ll find is that no matter how singular an experience might be, we can all relate on a human level. That’s what ultimately leads to a kinder and more empathetic world. It’s a lofty goal for a little sitcom on ABC, but one that’s achievable if Speechless gets brother and sister shows to work alongside it. I’m looking at you, every network out there. For now, this is a good place to start.
Speechless airs Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. on ABC.
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