"Special": A Non-Heartwarming Sitcom about a Gay Guy with Cerebral Palsy

At first I wasn't interested in Special, about a gay guy with cerebral palsy.  "Special"? Must be a heartwarming, gushing, "live every day to its fullest" warmedy, with lots of hugs and understanding.  Yuck.

But I dated a guy with cerebral palsy back in grad school. His legs and hands didn't work very well, but he had a massive upper body, completely cut, not an inch of body fat anywhere.  He got cruised constantly.

I figured, it wouldn't hurt to watch for the beefcake.  I could always fast-forward past the hugging and motivational speeches.

Ryan O'Connell, a writer and editor with credits including Will and Grace (the reboot), Daytime Divas, and Awkward, turns out to be not particularly buffed, but he is definitely cute.  Still, he was ashamed of his CP, and spent years trying to hide it, attributing his "limp" to a car accident.

His CP is obvious to me -- stiff-leg walk, random hand movements -- but I guess it worked.  He finally came out as disabled in a 2015 book, I'm Special and Other Lies We Tell Ourselves, which inspired Special (2019).

8 episodes, about 15 minutes each, which actually is not as short as it sounds.  In traditional 23-minute sitcom episodes, the A plot takes about 15 minutes, with 8 minutes devoted to B and C plots.  Here it's mostly A-plot. 

Episode #1: Ryan Hayes, who has led a sheltered  life due to his cerebral palsy and helicopter-mother (Jessica Hecht), wants to break out into the world.  He gets a job -- an unpaid internship at an online magazine (he has an income from his CP) --and a new bestie with body issues of her own, Kim (Punam Patel).  He tells everyone the limp story. 

Episode #2:  At a pool party, Kim encourages Ryan to display his body.  He  almost hooks up with Keaton (Jason Michael Snow), but Keaton bails when Ryan turns out to be a bad kisser (hint: when you're kissing a guy with CP, his head should be below yours).

Episode #3: Ryan has sex for the first time, with a sex worker (Jordan Alvarez) who is very understanding and even cuddles afterwards.

Episode #4: Ryan moves into a new apartment, and tries to hold a housewarming party, but he doesn't have any friends.  So Kim invites some of her friends, including Carey (Augustus Prew), who becomes his new gay bff.

Episode #5: Devoted to Mom, who is a harried caregiver to both Ryan and her own mother, and now has a new boyfriend.

Episode #6: Carey invites Ryan to a gay guy-only poker game.  Ryan thinks it's a date, but it turns out that Carey has a boyfriend.

Episode #7:  Ryan goes on a blind date with Michael (Andrew Daly), who is deaf, and speaks through an interpreter (Justin Kirk).  Ryan is freaked out by the encounter, and realizes that he has a problem with disabled people.

Episode #8:  Ryan comes out at work (as having CP), tells Carey that he likes him  (which is fine -- Carey and the boyfriend seem to have an open relationship), and stands up to his mother.

Ok, I changed my mind.  That did seem rather short.

Beefcake: Lots. Hot guys are always wandering in and out of Ryan's life.

Gay characters: Lots.  Most played by actual gay men.

I'll give it an A-.

Not an A because it's too darn short. I could have used more character development.  The Mom B-plot was just distracting.

But at least it was not at all heartwarming.

See also: My Student Steals My Boyfriend