An old woman pulls over and says, “Excuse me, There’s no handicapped placard on your car”. As the old woman begins to complain, a family opens the back doors of their forest green van that exposes a teenage boy in a wheelchair.
Over the past two years, ABC has introduced fantastic family shows such as Blackish and Fresh Off the Boat. Their latest addition to the family show lineup is about a family who has a son named JJ DiMeo who has cerebral palsy.
Maya DiMeo played by Minnie Driver is a passionate British woman who wants what’s best for her son. Therefore, she moves her family to Newport Beach because she wants JJ to have a full-time aid while he is in the classroom. While the family is struggling to find the perfect aid for JJ, he finds one on his own. A gardener named Kenneth whose voice is smooth to sound cool in front of his peers.
One of my favorite parts about this show is that the kids have unique personalities. Dylan, the daughter is an athletic girl who is very courageous. Ray, a nerdy pre-teen who has a crush on a young girl who isn’t popular but just has the same interests. The father Jimmy on the other hand, usually teaches the kids to be grateful that their mother is doing the best she can for the family. One scene that stood out was when JJ went into his first class and sees his teacher leading the class into an applause for JJ. JJ is confused about this as a student flips a sign that says “JJ for President” then, JJ points “You don’t know me”. This is a pretty accurate scene where when schools are trying to keep their diverse students to keep up with their reputation by trying to be super welcoming. The new school even had a diversity fair for its students.
Overall, it’s a fantastic show and it’s recently been renewed for a second season! Speechless is on Wednesdays at 8:30 on ABC. And the show is on demand on Hulu.