Women with power: 3 shows to binge on Netflix this week

I Am Not Okay With This

It is not true that if you’ve seen one coming-of-age drama then you’ve seen them all. There always seems to be a new way to put a spin on this beloved subgenre of media. In I Am Not Okay With This, the formula of an awkward teen in love with their best friend is spiced up by super powers and the female protagonist falling for her female best friend.

Syd, like the rest of her peers, is just trying to survive high school. It’s a hell hole made even more difficult by the loss of her father. And the hormones she thought she was going to have to navigate leaned toward her sexuality, not telekinetic outbursts triggered by her molotov cocktail of emotions. High school is hard. High school with telekinesis, a deceased father, a disrupted home life, and a best friend you’re in love with is harder.

I Am Not Okay With This is not X-men. Syd doesn’t have a crew of gifted youngsters she rolls with who make her feel less alone in her abilities. She has Stanley, her neighbor who is possibly more awkward than her. There’s Dina, too, but Syd’s best friend is dating “golden boy” Brad, so they definitely aren’t on the same page emotionally … or in taste. Still, Syd is an empowered girl who feels powerless. Powers or not, that’s a story many people can relate to even if they aren’t flinging bowling balls with their minds.

I Am Not Okay With This is series based on the comic book of the same name by Charles Forsman and from the producers of Stranger Things.