Television series

Special

Name: Special
Genre: Comedy
Released: 2019
Cast: Ryan O'Connell, Jessica Hecht, Punam Patel, Marla Mindelle, Patrick Fabian

Other titles called Special: the 2006 film.

Comedy
Light-hearted

Special is a sharp, genuinely funny comedy about a young gay man with cerebral palsy who reinvents himself after a humbling accident. It's tender and irreverent in quick succession, built on Ryan O'Connell's own story. You'll laugh, cringe with recognition, and feel something real about identity, desire, and the stories we tell ourselves.

TVMaze rating

3.5

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like sharp, confessional comedy about messy self-invention, where the jokes come out of an unflinching look at disability, sexuality and ambition.

Skip it if you want a sprawling plot; this stays tightly inside one man's head, and its self-absorption can grate in stretches.

What it asks of you: Short episodes, about twenty-two minutes each, sixteen across two seasons, asking little beyond your attention; the tone swings quickly between sharp jokes and quieter, exposed moments.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Atypical2017

A witty, compassionate series about a young autistic man figuring out sex, relationships and independence. It has the same warmth and specificity, and a gift for balancing humour with genuine stakes.

But The family subplot can overshadow the protagonist, and some disability rep choices were criticized by the community.

Never Have I Ever2020

Mindy Kaling's comedy about a first-generation Indian-American girl chasing popularity. Like Special, it's funny and messy and deeply interested in how identity shapes desire and friendship.

But It's slightly broader in its comedy, and the love triangle can feel like a time-filler in later seasons.

Please Like Me2013

Australian gem about a young man navigating mental illness, sexuality, and his mother's depression. Painfully honest, absurdly funny, structured so you never know if you're about to laugh or hurt.

But It's quieter and slower than Special. Some episodes lean hard into the sadness and stay there.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Special

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Comeback2005

Both use comedy to explore the gap between how we see ourselves and how we're actually perceived. Both are about reinvention, but The Comeback shows what happens when it's built on delusion rather than necessity.

Lisa Kudrow as a failed actress convinced she's secretly brilliant, followed by mockumentary cameras. It's awkward-funny in a specifically uncomfortable way, and absolutely fearless about showing vanity and delusion without pity.

But It's extremely cringey and treats its protagonist with almost no mercy. If you need your heroes likeable, you won't find one here.

Shrinking2023

Bill Lawrence's comedy about a grieving therapist who stops filtering himself. It has Special's willingness to be both hilarious and heavy, and a real curiosity about how people heal.

But With Harrison Ford and Jason Segel, it's broader and slicker than Special's scrappier energy.

Crashing2017

Phoebe Waller-Bridge's six-episode run about a woman whose life falls apart. Mortifyingly funny, deeply vulnerable, structured like a confession. The tone is Special's closest cousin.

But It's darker and more chaotic. If you need comfort from your comedy, this will scratch you raw.

Russian Doll2019

Natasha Lyonne trapped in a time loop, smoking and cursing her way toward self-knowledge. It's funnier than it has any right to be while asking genuinely difficult questions about meaning and change.

But The second season pivots to time travel and becomes more conceptual. The darkness can feel relentless.

Everything Sucks!2018

A comedy about high school kids making a film, with real affection for misfits and weirdos. It's sweet and silly and genuinely interested in how people become themselves.

But It was cancelled after one season. If you hate unfinished stories, this will sting.

Kevin Can F**k Himself2021

Annie Murphy as the sitcom wife who stops being decorative. It deconstructs the form itself and finds something real and angry underneath the laugh track.

But It's more about rage than joy. The tonal shifts from sitcom to drama can feel jarring rather than clever.

Schitt's Creek2015

A wealthy family loses everything and moves to a small town. It's genuinely one of the sweetest shows on television, about finding your people and learning to ask for help.

But Early seasons are broader and sitcom-y. It takes a while to become the generous thing it eventually is.

Heartstopper2022

Both are about young queer men claiming space to be themselves. But where Special is anarchic and self-sabotaging, Heartstopper is tender and hopeful—same destination, opposite routes.

A UK teen comedy about a gay relationship blooming in school, illustrated and pastel-soft. It's the opposite register from Special but shares its moral centre: that queer joy and specificity matter, that desire is worth defending, that identity is something you get to choose.

But It's gentler and more romantic than Special, almost determinedly wholesome. If you want edge and mess, it's not here.

Freak Out2015

Both are built on the lived experience of someone with a disability rewriting their own story. But where Special uses humour and irreverence as tools of freedom, Freak Out uses unflinching observation. Same subject, inverted language.

A French film about a young woman with epilepsy, made by Emmanuel Gras as documentary-realism. It refuses sentiment and holds space for her actual life: boredom, frustration, small victories, sex, humiliation. It never stops looking.

But It's not comedy. It's austere and long and offers no consolation. It is genuinely difficult to watch.