Neurodivergent TV Characters
Is it possible for TV writers to create Neurodivergent characters who are not coded?
Hi ADHDers!
How’s everyone doing?
I’m excited because MCM Comic Con London is in 2 weeks! I’ll be on the Neurodiversity Panel again on Friday 24th May 3:15 pm at the Creator Stage.
I’m open to cosplay suggestions!
As someone who watches many shows and movies, I find it bizarre that we hardly see Neurodivergent characters. It’s as if we don’t exist in society!
Although there are a few shows with ‘coded’ characters, I think there’s beauty in name-checking when characters are Neurodivergent.
Let’s run through Neurodivergent TV characters who aren’t coded.
Shall we begin?
Is it possible for TV writers to create Neurodivergent characters that are not coded?
Yes! We don’t see many examples so I have pulled together a list of examples from TV shows I have watched:
Grey’s Anatomy - ADHD
Heartbreak High - Autism
The Boys - OCD
Homeland - Bipolar
The Fosters - ADHD
Good Trouble - Autism
90210 - Dyslexia
Big Brother UK - Tourette’s
Let’s dive in!
👨🏻⚕️Grey’s Anatomy: ADHD
It is 2024 and I am still obsessed with Grey’s anatomy. Who isn’t!?
Grey’s Anatomy, Season 19, Episode 17 | abcnetwork, Disney+
Context: The episode features:
- Dr Adams, Surgical Resident: Undiagnosed ADHD.
- Dr Marsh, Surgeon and Director of the Residency Program: Diagnosed ADHD.
Dr Adams comes from a line of surgical greats! His uncle was the late Dr Derek Shepherd and his Aunt is Dr Amelia Shepherd. You can only imagine the amount of pressure he is under.
Example: In this episode, Dr Adams kept dropping the ball and making careless mistakes. You see him getting frustrated with himself and constantly apologising.
Does this sound relatable?
Dr Marsh gets pissed off at Dr Adams and tells him to “try harder and get his meds right because he is clearly struggling with his ADHD”.
Dr Adams stands in confusion as he hasn’t been diagnosed with ADHD.
Later in the episode, Dr Marsh apologises to Dr Adams for getting pissed as Dr Adams opens up about not being diagnosed with ADHD, though he has been reading about it. Dr Marsh tells him that he had been diagnosed with ADHD, explaining the different traits to Dr Adams.
Do you think this was handled well?
💔 Heartbreak High: Autism
Heartbreak High, Season 1, Netflix
Context: Quinn is an Autistic student at Hartley High. The show explores Quinn navigating dating Sasha, who also attends Hartley High.
Quinn doesn’t initially tell Sasha she is Autistic but later on reveals this to Sasha, following a previous date where Quinn was visibly overstimulated. Sasha is taken aback and says Quinn doesn’t look or act like she’s Autistic.
Let’s take a look:
Would you tell someone you’re dating that you’re Neurodivergent on the first date?
🦸🏾♂️ The Boys: OCD
The Boys, Season 3, Episode 6, Amazon Prime
The Boys is top 3 superhero-themed show of all time. It’s not debatable!
In an episode, you could expect, exploding heads, a boatload of superhero sp*rm flying all over the place, gunk and a whole lot of wild shit!
Context: ‘Mother’s Milk’ aka ‘MM’ is part of ‘The Boys’ a group that despises superheroes, especially the egotistical and bat sh*t crazy, Homelander.
MM can be described as meticulous, big of cleanliness, the group's glue and trustworthy.
MM talks about how his OCD was triggered after he witnessed the murder of his grandfather at the hands of Soldier Boy.
Examples:
MM tends to triple-check things, he is meticulous and is big on cleanliness. I honestly thought this was due to his family upbringing. But he mentions ever since his grandfather was murdered he has a routine of checking the kitchen burners 3 times a night.
MM also spoke about experiencing tics, compulsions and bad thoughts.
Homeland: Bipolar
Homeland, Showtime, Netflix
I won’t lie, I did find some scenes distressing.
Context: Carrie works for the Central Intelligence Agency and is on a mission to gather evidence on a US Marine who was a prisoner of war in Iraq who is believed to have been turned by al-Qaeda.
I would describe Carrie as an amazing problem solver who is great at unpicking threads, but also impulsive and occasionally behaves irrationally, drives towards danger and would often have you sitting at the edge of your seat!
Carrie hides that she’s bipolar from the CIA as her security clearance would be revoked, so she gets her medication from her sister who is a psychiatrist.
The show explores Carrie’s lack of risk inhibition, drinking, stopping her medication, and manic episodes due to bipolar. There was a very distressing scene in Season 1 where Carrie was being treated for her bipolar disorder using Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) - which was her decision.
It was hard for me to watch as it was my introduction to ECT.
List of other shows
Here is a list of other shows I’ve watched with Neurodivergent characters:
ADHD
The Fosters: Jesus is one of the foster kids who has trouble concentrating and has anger issues. He joins the school wrestling club which helps him manage his ADHD and also takes ADHD medication The show depicts harmful stereotypes of ADHD meds as a ‘study drug’ as it shows his Jesus’ sister, Mariana stealing his Adderall to help her study.
Autism
Good Trouble: Evan is an Autistic CEO of a tech company. The show explores his not-so-smooth relationship with Mariana as an Autistic man. Also, explores Autistic traits: overstimulation, routine, stimming, etc.
Dyslexia
Beverly Hills 90210 (original version) - Donna Martin doesn’t do well on school tests and explains how her brain ‘goes blank’. Her principal notices that Donna may have a learning disability and may have trouble processing information visually. She is provided accommodations and allowed to retake her exam orally.
Tourette's syndrome
Big Brother UK (2006) - Pete Bennett was a contestant and winner of BBUK. Pete was a great housemate and my first introduction to Tourette’s Syndrome, and vocal tics which helped develop my and the nation’s understanding. Representation in reality TV matters too!
What’s the verdict?
Why aren’t we seeing more Neurodivergent characters on our screens?
I’d say it’s a mixture of people overlooking representation's importance and potentially hesitating about ‘doing it wrong’.
Yes there are obvious traits, and some may lean into that to bring characters to life, but, I think there’s a way to show that a character is Neurodivergent without perpetuating stigmas and painting harmful narratives.
Neurodiversity in TV/Movies is a topic I have been talking about for over 3years now as a panellist at MCM Comic Con and across social platforms.
I would love the opportunity to get in rooms at TV and Film companies to talk about the importance of Neurodivergent representation and potential collaboration.
So I’m shooting my shot! If you know anyone working at TV networks, film studios or streaming companies like Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, Apple TV: I would be grateful if you could please direct them to my email or website:
rach@adulting-adhd.com
Which other shows with Neurodivergent characters do I need to watch?
That’s all from me!
Rach with ADHD.
I believe Reacher is Neurodivergent. Never got it from reading the books, but the show really had me feeling it.
Gregory on Abbott Elementary is coded as autistic.
James (The Glow Up, S2, on Netflix) has Tourette's and his stress-induced tics are part of his journey on this UK reality show.
Shaun Murphy (The Good Doctor) is autistic.
Army Wives is an old show (it's still on Hulu, I think) but the character Roxie is dyslexic.
On Game of Thrones (I just finished a rewatch), Jaime Lannister was dyslexic. There was a scene (S1 or 2) where his father, Twyin Lannister, commented about Jaime getting letters mixed up while reading so he sat with Jaime every day for four years, reading with him, until the letters "made sense".