as we see it

A few words about As We See It, an engaging 8-episode series now on Amazon Prime. To be honest, I watched it because our friend Arthur Keng has a small supporting role, but I'm glad I did. It's about some young adults on the autism spectrum, three of whom live together with the help of an aide (I never figured out if she lived with them). The cast is mostly unknown to me, although Sosie Bacon, daughter of Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwich, plays the aide and is terrific. Joe Mantegna turns up as the father of one of the young adults. It was created by Jason Katims, who has made many television series, including Friday Night Lights.

For people who like to binge, you can get through As We See It in about 4 hours. It feels honest to the lives of people on the spectrum ... admittedly, I probably wouldn't know if the show got it all wrong, but the main characters are finely-drawn, and the actors who play the three central people are all on the spectrum, themselves. It's all something of a breakthrough, and the show is fine, if not great. And while some of the characters hit a bit close to home, there are rewards, like when one man says "I'll practice empathy".

Not everyone in the autism community is happy with As We See It. This piece by Bianca Piazza is good: "Let's Discuss the Expected Controversy Surrounding Jason Katims' Dramedy Series 'As We See It'". It's so good that a couple of days later, a "different" piece by Amber Johnson reads like a plagiarized copy: "Let's Talk about the Expected Controversy Surrounding Jason Katims' Dramedy Series' As We See It". To be honest, I don't know who is doing the stealing. The article is worth reading, in any event.

Comments

[Arthur]

Thanks for watching and for the thoughts, Steven! The article makes a ton of really key observations about how broaching a topic as complicated as autism was always going to illicit strong reactions.

[Steven Rubio]

I'd like to see a second season.

[Arthur]

Me too! ;)

[Arthur]

Just noticed I used the wrong "elicit" here. Better late then never!