Raising Awareness About: Disability On TV

[possibilities]

I thought I had seen all the Degrassi episodes,but I don't remember either of those characters. Interesting.

 

[kiddo82]

Weaver's crutch on ER was just part of the character and was presented without commentary 99% of the time.  She was around for ten seasons before it was even mentioned what her diagnosis was.

[Trini]

Summary at Deadline: 'Authentic Portrayal Of Characters With Disabilities Sees Significant Progress – Study'

And full report here: https://rudermanfoundation.org/white_papers/the-ruderman-white-paper-on-authentic-representation-in-tv/

Quote

In a new study commissioned by the Ruderman Family Foundation, it was revealed that 22% of all characters with disabilities on network television and 20% of such characters on streaming services are portrayed authentically by an actor with the same disability. This is good news as it shows a significant boost from the Ruderman Family Foundation’s study from 2016 where 5% of characters on TV were cast authentically. Even though the needle has moved, the topic of disability remains largely absent from Hollywood’s diversity conversation.

The Foundation’s new white paper “Authentic Representation in Television 2018” picks up from the organization’s 2016 paper on employment of actors with disabilities on TV. The 2016 study was very eye-opening in that it revealed that despite people with disabilities representing nearly 20% of the U.S. population, 95% of characters with disabilities on television were played by able-bodied actors.

The 2018 study put a larger sample size under the microscope than the 206[sic] study. The study examined all TV shows aired in 2018, including 284 shows across 37 networks and four streaming platforms. According to the white paper, 55% of network television shows and 42% of shows on streaming services had characters with disabilities. More than half of these characters had mental disabilities, a third had physical disabilities and the rest had cognitive disabilities. Breaking it down: 71% of all authentically represented characters portrayed physical disabilities, 16% depicted mental disabilities and 13% represented intellectual disabilities.

 

[Oosala]

I like this thread and I actually have something to contribute!  haha

In England, there is a very unique type of show that is very popular -- the panel show.  They are usually comedies and the panelists seem to rotate from one panel show to another.  Anyway, there's a very good one called The Last Leg, and two of the three regulars have disabilities.  The main presenter is Australian Adam Hills, who was born without a right foot and wears a prosthetic, participates in Paralympic type things, and is totally hot.  Another presenter is Alex Booker who had his right leg amputated when he was a baby.  Alex also has hand and arm deformities but it certainly hasn't held him back in any way.  Josh Widdicombe is the third presenter who is able bodied.  The opening theme to the show is hilarious.  Watch it on BritBox.

Major props goes to Target who have been using disabled employees for many years in their commercials and in-store branding, and also IN REAL LIFE.

Also from England, there's a crime procedural called Vera (highly recommended).  For a time, not sure if she's still on it, there was a detective in a wheelchair.  NOTHING was said about her disability.  She was just there doing crime-solvey things on her computer.  It's also on BritBox but this character doesn't appear until the later seasons.

[angora]

I was really into Adam Hills's standup stuff when I was in college, super funny guy! Here's an old video I remember of him doing a routine on his prosthetic foot.

 

[Anduin]

12 hours ago, Oosala said:

In England, there is a very unique type of show that is very popular -- the panel show.  They are usually comedies and the panelists seem to rotate from one panel show to another.  Anyway, there's a very good one called The Last Leg, and two of the three regulars have disabilities.  The main presenter is Australian Adam Hills, who was born without a right foot and wears a prosthetic, participates in Paralympic type things, and is totally hot.  Another presenter is Alex Booker who had his right leg amputated when he was a baby.  Alex also has hand and arm deformities but it certainly hasn't held him back in any way.  Josh Widdicombe is the third presenter who is able bodied.  The opening theme to the show is hilarious.  Watch it on BritBox.

Adam Hills hosted Spicks and Specks for many years, and his foot was very rarely mentioned. Sometimes when he was doing standup comedy, and I remember him doing a bit where he imitated the T-1000 from Terminator 2. Good stuff.

[SVNBob]

I was wanting to bring this show up too, but couldn't really figure out a way. 

12 hours ago, Oosala said:

In England, there is a very unique type of show that is very popular -- the panel show.  They are usually comedies and the panelists seem to rotate from one panel show to another.  Anyway, there's a very good one called The Last Leg, and two of the three regulars have disabilities.  The main presenter is Australian Adam Hills, who was born without a right foot and wears a prosthetic, participates in Paralympic type things, and is totally hot.  Another presenter is Alex Booker who had his right leg amputated when he was a baby.  Alex also has hand and arm deformities but it certainly hasn't held him back in any way.  Josh Widdicombe is the third presenter who is able bodied.  The opening theme to the show is hilarious.  Watch it on BritBox.

Technically it's more a chat show than a panel show.

The show was originally started to do additional coverage for the 2012 London Paralympics.  But it proved to be popular enough to become a regular weekly comedy/news show, along the lines of the Daily Show here in the US.  Adam himself describes the show as "three guys with four legs talking about the week."

 

But speaking of Adam Hills and British panel shows, here's a clip of an appearance he made on Mock the Week, when the subject of his artificial limb came up in the presence of 6 other comedians.

 

[ABay]

Dara and Hugh look so young!

Who are the other 2 on Andy's team?

Edited February 8, 2020 by ABay

[SVNBob]

2 hours ago, ABay said:

Who are the other 2 on Andy's team?

I don't know the one in the middle.  But the one on the end that asked Adam to remove his foot is Russell Howard.

[Llywela]

A few years ago, Eve Myles was in a Welsh (but English language) TV show called Baker Boys in which her character had a teenage daughter with cerebral palsy, played by an actress with cerebral palsy (Cara Readle). The girl's disability was never a plotline of any kind, it was simply part of who she was, and the family dynamic revolved not around a child with a disability but around divorce, shared parenting, teenage rebellion, and financial strife (the show itself was about the struggle to keep a local bakery open in an economically deprived community reliant on it for employment).

[possibilities]

"Everything's Gonna be Okay" has an autistic character, played by an autistic actress. She is fully integrated into the ensemble. They did a story where she had sex for the first time (she's in high school), and showed it from her point of view, and then later showed how other people reacted to finding out, and how she reacted to their reactions. It's a mix of good and bad, which in my experience is the best you can usually hope for in real life, though that doesn't make it easier to see. But I think the show knows when it's showing bad behavior.

[BW Manilowe]

On 1/24/2019 at 12:41 AM, Irlandesa said:

The problem is that the playing field isn't equal.  Actors with disabilities are usually only considered for parts with that particular disability whereas able-bodied actors get opportunities for both parts. 

I think Marlee Matlin with Joey Lucas on The West Wing was about the only time I ever felt like an actor with an obvious impairment was hired because the creators liked her as an actress. That character seemed like it could have been played by anyone and the character was only deaf to fit Marlee whereas most of the characters I've seen her as were deaf and it seemed like she was hired because she was the best deaf actress TPTB knew.

Regarding the bolded: Back in the early 1990s, Marlee Matlin starred in another show where her hearing impairment was incorporated into the character. That show was Reasonable Doubts; her co-star was Mark Harmon. She played a prosecutor & he played a detective who were assigned to work together because he was 1 of the few on the police force in the show who knew ASL.

Edited February 22, 2020 by BW Manilowe
To add necessary italics to a title.

[BW Manilowe]

On 1/25/2019 at 3:17 AM, kathyk24 said:

Thanks for starting this forum. I don't watch able bodied actors playing disabled people because I want to support disabled actors. I don't think a negative to show the barriers a disabled person faces every day. On one episode of Speechless JJ who uses a power wheelchair decided to go to the mall by himself. The audience saw all the obstacles JJ had to overcome to complete a simple task. An able-bodied actor doesn't have that knowledge. It isn't difficulty to have a diverse cast. Sesame Street had Linda Bove who is deaf as part of the cast in the 70's if a kids show can be inclusive other shows can follow their lead.

Regarding the bolded: Granted, this example doesn’t involve a human being, per se, & most of us are probably too old for this kind of show, but I still think it’s worth mentioning. In 2015, Sesame Street added a new Muppet character, Julia, who’s on the autism spectrum. She’s played by a woman whose real life daughter is on the autism spectrum. This is how she was introduced in the show, in a scene with Muppets Big Bird, Abby Cadabby, Elmo, & human character Alan, who runs Mr. Hooper’s Store now (or at least when this was originally filmed), as I remember. The clip is about 10 minutes long, but I think it’s worth watching (I watched it again before linking it); especially if you have family or other loved ones on the autism spectrum.

I was born with Spina Bifida (Open Spine) & Hydrocephalus (Water on the Brain), which were corrected shortly after birth but did leave some lasting effects. In recent years, some of those effects have, unfortunately, been worsened thanks to the untimely & unexpected failure of the shunt in my head meant to keep the Hydrocephalus in check. It is what it is, & I’m dealing with it so don’t feel badly for me about that. I really don’t care if a disabled character is played by a disabled actor/actress or not, as long as the non-disabled actor/actress isn’t glaringly awful at depicting the disability/disabilities of their character (like being caught constantly looking at the camera if they’re supposed to be blind).

[kathyk2]

There is a new show on PBS Kids called Hero Elementary about superheroes in training. One of the characters AJ Sparks is autistic. His specialty is creating gadgets. He is sensitive to loud noises and has trouble understanding certain figures of speech. For example when a character says to him You're the man AJ responds I'm only seven. It's a cute show without being sappy.

[Blergh]

IMO, one of the more likable characters on Girl Meets World was Isadora Smackle (Cecilia Balagot)who had been diagnosed as a  high functioning autistic  from an early age . Yet,  in spite of this challenge, actually seemed   to have more consideration for others and better manners than the supposedly perfect Riley (not difficult). Oh and she and Farkle wound up having the healthiest bond of any of the teens on the show so good for them!

Edited June 27, 2020 by Blergh

[possibilities]

I came over to give am updated opinion about "In The Dark" which has a blind character. The show has gotten much better in its representation. In addition to the main character, they've also got another blind character, plus one who's losing his vision and has recently started to need a cane to navigate. All three of these folks have distinct personalities and issues, and I really like that the show decide not to just have a token.

One thing I like is that Murphy (the blind lead character) is not in any way being treated as a damsel in distress. The show is full of dangerous situations, and she's portrayed as being right in the mix, not in any way more of a victim or less of a perpetrator than anyone else.

For example, in this week's episode

 

they are burying two corpses in the woods and she tries for half a second to get out of it but someone just hands her a shovel and she starts digging the grave right with everyone else. No one feels sorry for her and no one tries to diminish her abilities

I still have complaints, like the way she treats her Guide Dog (yanking on his harness, leaving him behind a lot), but I'm appreciating more of the things they are doing than I did at first.

There is just zero pity, zero infantilization, and zero sanitizing the situation. It's the rare show that doesn't resort to inspiration porn, misery porn, rescue fantasies, or minimization of the disability in order to drive the agenda. Her blindness is part of her, but it's not the only thing, or the main storyline.

A few years ago there was a tv show about a blind detective. And it really was all about how "He Is Blind and Also A Detective-- how does he do it? And look how people react to him!!!"

In The Dark doesn't do that at all. She's doing a whole bunch of shit, including solving a murder, and she's dealing with cops and drug dealers, but it's not about How The Blind Girl Does That. It's about how Murphy does it. And the people who react to her are mostly reacting to things other than her being blind.

I want to see more characters with disabilities, where the disabilities are part of their lives (not ignored), but where the plot is not about the disability itself. This is one of the rare shows that does that.

 

Edited June 28, 2020 by possibilities

[Luckylyn]

18 hours ago, Blergh said:

IMO, one of the more likable characters on Girl Meets World was Isadora Smackle (Cecilia Balagot)who had been diagnosed as a  high functioning autistic  from an early age . Yet,  in spite of this challenge, actually seemed   to have more consideration for others and better manners than the supposedly perfect Riley (not difficult). Oh and she and Farkle wound up having the healthiest bond of any of the teens on the show so good for them!

I really hated how Riley would force hugs on Smackle.   

[Trini]

New Netflix show:

Quote

Finding love can be hard for anyone. For young adults on the autism spectrum, exploring the unpredictable world of dating is even more complicated. Love on the Spectrum arrives on Netflix July 22.

Trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX-QbcXyZug&feature=youtu.be

 

[blueray]

Was that on PBS? I remember seeing a documentary regarding people who have Autism and are dating. I'll put this in spoilers just in case it is that doc. If it is, I'd recommend it as it was really good.

Spoiler

There was a couple who had been together for 8 yrs and he decided he wants to propose and is figuring how to during the show 🙂

 

[Trini]

47 minutes ago, blueray said:

Was that on PBS? I remember seeing a documentary regarding people who have Autism and are dating. I'll put this in spoilers just in case it is that doc. If it is, I'd recommend it as it was really good.

  Reveal spoiler

There was a couple who had been together for 8 yrs and he decided he wants to propose and is figuring how to during the show 🙂

 

I hadn't heard of that, but I don't think it's the same.(?)

[blueray]

nvm, that was called Autism in Love it was released in 2015 and aired on PBS in 2016. So I guess this is different then.

[kathyk24]

Stumptown was canceled due to Covid. This stinks because it's one less opportunity for a disabled actor.

[Blergh]

6 hours ago, kathyk24 said:

Stumptown was canceled due to Covid. This stinks because it's one less opportunity for a disabled actor.

True, but thanks to this affliction not only are countless challenged performers having to struggle to find the means to maintain their livelihood with only a tiny of number of movie, television,etc. productions still viable but those few that survive do so with only skeletal crews and have limited releases. Oh, and they often have additional medical, therapeutic and equipment expenses they must absorb just to survive that non-challenged performers don't have to think of. 

[kathyk24]

There is a new documentary debuting on Netflix titled DeafU regarding students at Galludet  University. The film will air on October 9th.

[peachmangosteen]

It's actually a series, not a film.

 

[kathyk24]

On 9/26/2020 at 7:01 PM, peachmangosteen said:

It's actually a series, not a film.

 

I just binged Deaf U It is excellent but don't watch if you have young children in the room since there is a lot of discussion about sex and some swearing. I thought it  was very honest talking about the differences between deaf students who use speech and sign language and those who only use sign language. I thought it was so weird to see actual Deaf people and the Deaf people we on tv. These students were just as interested in dating and partying as their peers yet on tv disabled abled people are viewed as the best friend and not as a love interest. If they drink it's due to loneliness or bitterness not to have a good time.

[peachmangosteen]

@kathyk24 There's a thread for Deaf U here if you wanna share your thoughts!

[Blergh]

With  the recent passing of the perennial game show host Tom Kennedy at age 93, it needs to be said that his brother's onetime brother-in-law Bill Cullen had to deal with physical challenges his entire career from the 1950's to the 1980's. Yes, he was always somewhat nerdy (in contrast to Peter Marshall, John Davidson and even Richard Dawson)  and wore glasses but that wasn't it. He had contracted polio as a toddler then got into a bad car accident as a teen which left him unable to walk without a major struggle. This was shielded from the public by having him either be seated or propped up or , if he did make an 'entrance', to having it carefully edited as not to show his gait. Alas, it was kept SO quiet that in 1966, comedian Mel Brooks saw him flailing his feet while walking by chance and thought Mr. Cullen was just trying to walk comically so he imitated that walk in front of him! It was quickly explained to Mr. Brooks his fox pass and, although Mr. Cullen graciously told  the mortified Mr. Brooks that he was glad that Mr. Brooks had not danced around his real-life challenges, this would be kept an inside secret for the rest of Mr. Cullen's career. 

[paulvdb]

‘Accessible’ Teen Comedy From Ryan O’Connell, Jim Parsons & Todd Spiewak In the Works At HBO Max

Quote

Written by O’Connell, Accessible is a half-hour “traumedy” that follows Clare, a 15-year-old girl who’s recently been in an accident and is forced to attend a boarding school for people with all kinds of disabilities. There, she discovers the usual teenage dilemmas of sex, love, and friendship are even more complicated in a wheelchair. It’s like if a John Hughes movie had a handicapped orgy, per producers.

 

[possibilities]

Damn. I thought we were done shipping kids off to segregated warehouses. So much for Sect 504, the IDEA and the ADA>

[Trini]

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

Damn. I thought we were done shipping kids off to segregated warehouses. So much for Sect 504, the IDEA and the ADA>

They lost me at “traumedy”.

[kathyk24]

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

Damn. I thought we were done shipping kids off to segregated warehouses. So much for Sect 504, the IDEA and the ADA>

I attended a residential school for disabled kids when I was in high school so I'm interested in this. I don't understand why they are putting this show on HBO Max which many disabled people can't afford. Disabled people and community organizations will give this show more publicity than mainstream media.

[kathyk24]

I'm so frustrated that Nick Andros a deaf character is played by a hearing actor in the new version of the Stand. How can disabled actors gain experience if they can't get hired? People would be furious if Mother Abigail were played by a white actress. 

[BW Manilowe]

On 12/21/2020 at 8:06 PM, kathyk24 said:

I'm so frustrated that Nick Andros a deaf character is played by a hearing actor in the new version of the Stand. How can disabled actors gain experience if they can't get hired? People would be furious if Mother Abigail were played by a white actress. 

At least when he was played by Rob Lowe, I think in the previous version (or a previous version), the character was played by an actor with a real life partial hearing impairment; Rob lost the hearing in his right ear when he was a few months old.

[possibilities]

Why did I not know sooner that 9-1-1 has a character, Christopher, who is a kid with CP??? 

[ratgirlagogo]

On 3/6/2021 at 6:06 PM, possibilities said:

Why did I not know sooner that 9-1-1 has a character, Christopher, who is a kid with CP??? 

Casting actors with CP is one of Ryan Murphy's things.

[kieyra]

Ginny and Georgia is the first show I’ve seen with a deaf secondary (maybe tertiary) character where the show goes out of their way to have the whole family (Dad is deaf) including the kids regularly using sign language with each other. The kids sign at each other even when Dad’s not in the scene. The signs aren’t always subtitled, and I keep meaning to look up (if I can figure out how) one exchange the teens have between themselves that I’m pretty sure is “fuck off” or something to that effect. 

They also seem (to my totally untrained/ignorant eye) to frame the shots to show the way the family is always careful when an outsider is present to make sure they’re communicating with both the hearing and non-hearing. 

[praeceptrix]

More than 80 actors and entertainment industry professionals including Amy Poehler, Naomie Harris and Jessica Barden have signed an open letter against prejudice and discrimination towards disabled talent in Hollywood.

From the linked article:

The letter says there's an "urgent need to act on disability inclusion" and urges major studios to appoint permanent disability officers.

The number of disabled characters on screen "continues to severely under-represent the actual US population living with disabilities", it says.

"Due to years of misrepresentation in the media, social barriers, and chronic ableism, the deaf, hard of hearing, neurodiverse and disabled communities continue to be underrepresented and disrespected in the entertainment industry."

How much good it will do remains to be seen, but I think -- hope -- that it will at least raise awareness among non-disabled actors and encourage them to support their colleagues in a more active fashion.

[krankydoodle]

Fascinating read from the NYTimes: Is There a Right Way to Act Blind? Activists slammed the TV show In the Dark for casting a sighted actress in a blind lead role. But what if blindness is a performance of its own?

One of the interesting insights from the article about how blindness is portrayed:

Quote

Any sighted person who has had a more than cursory conversation with someone who’s blind has had the uncanny experience of the blind person’s suddenly making direct eye contact with you. This is because your voice comes out of your face, and when one face is pointed at another, odds are that, occasionally, the eyes will meet. Many blind people, from Stevie Wonder to blind YouTubers, have been accused of faking their blindness, and eye contact is usually offered as one piece of (totally spurious) evidence. For the doubters, blindness can only look like slapstick and imprecision — anything else belongs strictly to the realm of sight. The biggest inaccuracy of Mattfeld’s performance, then, may be its failure to allow for the appearance of sightedness within blindness — to occasionally make direct eye contact, or once in a while reach for an object and nail it on the first try.

 

[possibilities]

I haven't read the NYT article, but I thought the reason to cast disabled actors is not because sighted and/or AB actors can't act, but because it's insulting to the community to think we can't act on our own behalf. Nothing about us without us. 

[Trini]

Article: 'People with disabilities are nearly invisible in TV and film. Industry insiders point to authentic portrayals of disabled characters as models for inclusion.'

Quote

Disability was in focus during this year's festival and awards circuits. "CODA," a dramedy about a hearing teenager from a deaf family, was the darling of the Sundance Film Festival. Oscar nominees included films that portrayed disability communities, like "Sound of Metal," the documentary "Crip Camp," and the short film "Feeling Through."

These films, which featured actors with disabilities and avoided some harmful and overrepresented stereotypes, signaled progress to some who have fought for decades for inclusion in TV and film.

"Progress is more and more films being recognized for their positive and authentic portrayals of deaf people or people with disabilities," said Marlee Matlin, an Oscar-winning actress who starred in "Coda," and identifies as deaf. "That's not to say that we've achieved everything we've aimed for, but the voices of inclusion are being heard."

People with disabilities are still among the most underrepresented groups in Hollywood. 

...

 

[Leeds]

Daniel Laurie, who plays Reggie on Call The Midwife, amongst other roles, has Down Syndrome.  One of my favourite programmes ever, and Daniel Laurie is a treat.

[SunnyBeBe]

On 1/26/2019 at 12:36 AM, BuyMoreAndSave said:

Breaking Bad had a realistic portrayal of a disabled character in Walt Jr. His disability didn't define him as a person and he still had pretty much the same goals and wants as most teenage boys. Chuck from Better Call Saul was also a realistic and haunting portrayal of mental illness (electromagnetic sensitivity). The end of season 3 was TOO real showing what compulsions can look like at their worst.

Despite all the criticism of Lena Dunham, from what I've seen of it (I don't have HBO so only saw clips of it) she did a pretty good portrayal of OCD in Girls...certainly a lot better than most shows which tend to make it into a laughingstock (I've had OCD for about twenty years).

Good points.  I think I read that Lena really does struggle with OCD, so she was really revealing a lot about herself. 
 

I recently realized that an older drama called Lie To Me, if anyone recalls it, featured a hearing impaired assistant. She read lips and worked in the office for two of the lead characters.  I think she really was deaf.  This must have been around 2010!………I found a link about it. 
https://ew.com/article/2010/07/21/lie-to-me-shoshannah-stern/

 

 

 

Edited August 23, 2021 by SunnyBeBe

[Scarlett45]

On 7/2/2021 at 12:27 PM, possibilities said:

I haven't read the NYT article, but I thought the reason to cast disabled actors is not because sighted and/or AB actors can't act, but because it's insulting to the community to think we can't act on our own behalf. Nothing about us without us. 

Yes- its akin to hiring white persons to play people of color, and hundreds of years ago hiring men to play women's parts because women were not allowed on stage. It's saying "its fine to make money telling the stories of disabled people, but they are not allowed to participate in the process of storytelling."

There is no reason why disabled actors cannot play disabled characters, as well as playing characters that just happened to be disabled. 

[possibilities]

I'm very conflicted about "In The Dark" because the actress playing Murphy (blind character) is not blind, but the show is really the only thing I've seen on network TV that has a 3 dimensional character that's blind, is not a token, and is not a trope.

The blindness is fully integrated into her character, it's not glossed over nor is it the driver of the plot. And she's not a token-- there have been two other blind or significantly vision impaired-going-blind characters who are also equally developed, not tokens, not tropes, whose stories are not about the blindness but where the blindness is part of their lives. 

They should have cast actors who actually were blind, and they don't get everything about blindness right. BUT they do more than any other show in terms of writing characters who are fully integrated.

[kathyk24]

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

I'm very conflicted about "In The Dark" because the actress playing Murphy (blind character) is not blind, but the show is really the only thing I've seen on network TV that has a 3 dimensional character that's blind, is not a token, and is not a trope.

The blindness is fully integrated into her character, it's not glossed over nor is it the driver of the plot. And she's not a token-- there have been two other blind or significantly vision impaired-going-blind characters who are also equally developed, not tokens, not tropes, whose stories are not about the blindness but where the blindness is part of their lives. 

They should have cast actors who actually were blind, and they don't get everything about blindness right. BUT they do more than any other show in terms of writing characters who are fully integrated.

If people are aware that you can feign being disabled they might think actual disabled people are faking it as well. The only exception I would make is if it would harm a disabled person. For example I wouldn't someone with mental illness to play Tara in United States of Tara due to the graphic scenes of child abuse.

[possibilities]

I agree it's wrong to have hired sighted actors, but I also think that ITD is doing some good stuff with other aspects of their show. I'm not excusing them for the wrong hires. I'm just saying that I watch it and am finding some things praiseworthy, despite the problems.

People already think we're faking.

[paulvdb]

NBC recently released the first 5 minutes of their new series La Brea and I saw that one of the main characters has a prosthetic leg.

[Llywela]

The third season of the Welsh drama series Craith premiered this week, featuring an actor with Down's Syndrome in a prominent leading role.

Background info: Craith is a very moody, atmospheric detective drama - it is one of those joint S4C/BBC projects that films both a Welsh language and an English language version. The English version is called Hidden and usually airs a few months after the Welsh one, which is the one I'm watching. The way Craith is structured, the audience always knows from the start whodunnit, the mystery revolves around why. Each season tells the story of one murder investigation, and we follow the story of the killer alongside that of the detectives working the case. Over the course of the season, we get to know who the killer is, who are the important people in their life, what kind of life do they lead, what sort of pressures they are under that led them to commit murder, and also, crucially, the impact the murder has on them afterward, as they scramble to cover their tracks while slowly but surely unravelling.

This season, the murderer is construction labourer Siôn, who lives with his brother Glyn, played by Justin Melluish, who has Down's Syndrome. We've only had the first episode yet, but the character Glyn is already a really strong, important and prominent role - he is the primary figure in killer Siôn's life, our key to understanding who Siôn is and why he was driven to kill. And Justin Melluish is excellent, already after one episode a really grounded character with multiple facets. Glyn keeps pigeons and looks after the house while his brother goes out to work, and each of them believes it is his job to look after the other. So far, we've seen that Glyn is aware that something is up with his brother and is worried about it, but is reluctant to press. We've seen that he is stubborn and independent - run out of milk late at night and he'll just take himself off to the shop to get more, because he's an adult and why shouldn't he? And we've seen that he is vulnerable, as going out alone late at night makes him a target for local louts. The role carries a lot more narrative responsibility than we usually see for an actor with an intellectual disability like Down's syndrome, and is also a really well rounded role, the Down's is part of him but not all of him. I'm looking forward to seeing how the rest of the season unfolds.

Edited October 12, 2021 by Llywela

[andromeda331]

7 hours ago, Llywela said:

The third season of the Welsh drama series Craith premiered this week, featuring an actor with Down's Syndrome in a prominent leading role.

Background info: Craith is a very moody, atmospheric detective drama - it is one of those joint S4C/BBC projects that films both a Welsh language and an English language version. The English version is called Hidden and usually airs a few months after the Welsh one, which is the one I'm watching. The way Craith is structured, the audience always knows from the start whodunnit, the mystery revolves around why. Each season tells the story of one murder investigation, and we follow the story of the killer alongside that of the detectives working the case. Over the course of the season, we get to know who the killer is, who are the important people in their life, what kind of life do they lead, what sort of pressures they are under that led them to commit murder, and also, crucially, the impact the murder has on them afterward, as they scramble to cover their tracks while slowly but surely unravelling.

This season, the murderer is construction labourer Siôn, who lives with his brother Glyn, played by Justin Melluish, who has Down's Syndrome. We've only had the first episode yet, but the character Glyn is already a really strong, important and prominent role - he is the primary figure in killer Siôn's life, our key to understanding who Siôn is and why he was driven to kill. And Justin Melluish is excellent, already after one episode a really grounded character with multiple facets. Glyn keeps pigeons and looks after the house while his brother goes out to work, and each of them believes it is his job to look after the other. So far, we've seen that Glyn is aware that something is up with his brother and is worried about it, but is reluctant to press. We've seen that he is stubborn and independent - run out of milk late at night and he'll just take himself off to the shop to get more, because he's an adult and why shouldn't he? And we've seen that he is vulnerable, as going out alone late at night makes him a target for local louts. The role carries a lot more narrative responsibility than we usually see for an actor with an intellectual disability like Down's syndrome, and is also a really well rounded role, the Down's is part of him but not all of him. I'm looking forward to seeing how the rest of the season unfolds.

Sounds like a great show.