It doesn’t take long for Insatiable to reveal the kind of show it’s going to be: when former Disney Channel star Debby Ryan emerges in a fat suit, talking about how miserable her life as an overweight teen was, its clear that audiences are in for a sophomoric hour of television. But, over the course of the remaining 40 minutes, the latest Netflix original series (a pick-up from The CW’s last pilot season), sinks to such bizarre, unexpected lows that one has to wonder if anyone will stick around for the remaining 11 episodes. This unpleasant show is desperate to shock viewers, but the only thing surprising about it is how tone deaf and eye-roll inducing it is.
Ryan plays Patty, a plus-sized teen whose life changes after being punched in the face by a homeless man who tries to steal a chocolate bar from her. Forced to go on a liquid diet for three months, Patty finds herself with a bombshell body and an uncontrollable desire to get revenge on those who bullied her. Luckily, she meets Bob, a disgraced beauty pageant coach (we’ll get to that later) who thinks she can be his ticket back to the big leagues. But the teen pageant world is a fierce one, and Patty must contend with a scheming mother/daughter pair (Arden Myrin and Irene Choi), the beautiful reigning champ from a well-to-do family (Erinn Westbrook), and Bob’s own son, Brick (Michael Provost), her crush prior to her makeover who is an on again/off again relationship with Patty’s biggest competition.
Why is Bob (Dallas Roberts) a disgraced beauty pageant host, you ask? Well that’s because, within the show’s first five minutes, he is falsely accused of molesting his mentee after he fails to coach her to a victory. This accusation is played for laughs, as Bob complains via voiceover narration that, in today’s culture, he would have no way of defending himself to the public. This is, of course, a hugely offensive line for Insatiable to cross, perpetuating dangerous myths about scheming women who point fingers at men for revenge. This whole subplot is massively tone deaf, and completely insensitive to survivors of sexual violence, especially those who have faced scrutiny online. Using this accusation as a throwaway plot point, especially in a post-#MeToo era, is sickening.
But Insatiable doesn’t stop there: over the course of the first episode, another teen girl falsely accuses a man of sexual violence for laughs, only after using her body to manipulate a legal predicament in her favor. By the end of the episode, a third teen girl drunkenly propositions a grown man in a hugely uncomfortable sequence, while the relationship between Patty and Bob carries a bizarre sexual undertone that feels wholly inappropriate. The gender dynamics on this show feel hugely unbalanced, and leave little hope for what the rest of the show will bring. And that’s not all! An extended gag mocks gay sex, with sophomoric puns that feel like they were stolen from the hallways of a middle school. And, of course, there are plenty of fat jokes. To no surprise, none of these comedic moments are, in any way, pleasant.
If there is a silver lining here, it is two of the pilot’s performances. She may have been given some terrible material to work with, but former Disney Channel star Debby Ryan proves she can handle a more mature series with aplomb. She’s charismatic and likable, even when her character is not. Meanwhile, as Patty’s best friend who clearly harbors romantic feelings for her, Kimmy Shields has some nice moments that call to mind a young Sara Gilbert. Hopefully, if Insatiable is cancelled, they’ll find a home on another Netflix series. It would be a shame for them to waste multiple years of their career on this show.
“Shock” humor tends to be lazy, yes, but it can also be weaponized in order to make a broader point. There are, of course, many factors to consider, like who is telling the joke, and what the point of the joke is But works of art like “The Book of Mormon,” select episodes of South Park, and films like Blazing Saddles or Heathers have proven that shocking jokes can be used in a smart, satirical way, when they mock those in power for holding archaic, derogatory beliefs. But what Insatiable is doing, at least in its first episode, is merely punching down. It mocks gay men, it mocks victims of sexual violence, and it mocks plus sized individuals, with no goal other than to make viewers gasp. It’s doubtful that this was the writer’s intention, but that doesn’t really matter: their audience deserves better.
Overall rating: 2 out of 10
this show is not that bad. You want to talk about terrible Netflix show, review Everything Sucks, that show was terrible. Insatiable is the opposite.