Following in the footsteps of this End of the F***ing World, Netflix’s second adaptation of a Charles Forsman comic book to be made and led by Jonathan Entwistle found just as much acclaim and adulation, together with I’m Not Okay With This becoming one of the streaming service’s early-year sleeper hits.
The coming-of-age narrative shrouded teenage It stars Sophia Lillis and Wyatt Oleff as chief characters Sydney Novak and Stan Barber, but that time that the duo were forced to handle emerging superpowers and heterosexual love instead of a homicidal clown.
A charming blend of nostalgia, awkward and relatable characters, along with a distinctive supernatural twist all combined to great effect over the short seven-episode first season, but all the signs were there that the show had the makings of a cult favorite.
There was more than a hint of Stranger Things in a story that followed that a teenage girl struggling to come to terms with her newfound telekinetic abilities, which should not have come as much surprise given the presence of Shawn Levy among the executive producers the same place he retains on the little screen global phenomenon.
Netflix has always been fairly secretive when it comes to showing viewing figures for nearly all their in-house originals, but I Am Not Okay With This must have been demonstrated to be quite popular when a second season was formally declared at the beginning of August to the delight of fans everywhere.
However, less than two weeks after that the decision was surprisingly reversed, and I Am Not Okay With This was cancelled on the same day as The Society, yet another Netflix first that was a hit with all the target audience and also given the green light to get a second series of episodes.
Netflix named the continuing worldwide health catastrophe as the driving factor behind their decision, with the increased budgetary costs and concerns over potential production delays causing both shows to be pulled from the airwaves entirely.
Petitions are released to attempt to convince Netflix I Am Not Okay With This is worth saving, however at this stage it would seem that their decision is final, which is a real shame for those fans who had been eagerly awaiting Season 2 following the first ended on a huge cliffhanger when Sydney utilized her powers in her high school homecoming to deadly influence and ran into the woods, only to experience a mysterious figure who was widely believed to be her father that had long been presumed deceased.
Until another streaming service or system steps into the foot the bill and shoot the scripts which were already written, the final episode of I’m Not Okay With This will function as the series finale, in what marks a disappointing ending to get a series that was impeccably cast, well-acted, superbly taken and had only started to tap to the nearly limitless potential of the idea.
