Netflix's Special lives up to its name

Vulture

Ryan O’Connell based his Netflix series on his life as a gay man with cerebral palsy. And playing a version of himself, O'Connell carries the series by "being funny and compelling, and impressively committed to depicting his own imperfections," says Kathryn VanArendonk. The only flaw is the 15-minute episodes that result in stories that aren't fully developed. "The series works because O’Connell makes it work, and because most of its energy is directed toward depicting how spiky and caustic Ryan can be, while also being vulnerable and sheltered and myopic and intelligent," she says. "His flaws are O’Connell’s flaws, right down to the decision to lie about his cerebral palsy to his co-workers because it lets him escape the stigma of a congenital disability."

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• Special isn’t a “disability comedy,” it’s a comedy where disability is a meaningful, but singular, slice of its main character’s rich life
• Was it Ryan O'Connell's idea to do short episodes?: "No f*cking way," he says. "That was (Warner Bros') Stage 13. I’m a half-hour bitch, okay? That’s what I know. Honey, I don’t go chasing 15-minute waterfalls. I stick to the rivers and lakes that I’m used to, and that is a 30-minute show, okay? I’m actually really glad that Netflix bought it as is, because if they wanted to do a half hour, I’d have to rewrite the entire series and that would not be fun. But for season two, mama wants a half hour!"