Ever since the trailer for this show came out, loads of criticism has been thrown at everyone who is related to Insatiable in any way. Whether it’s the creator, someone from the cast, or Netflix, they all have had to deal with an insane amount of questions, hate or a petition asking for the show to be canceled. By “insane” amount I don’t mean “crazy” or “unnecessary”, with this review I’m going to explain to you exactly why I used this term.
A way that I would describe the series to a couple of people is: 98% of the series is full of controversial topics that weren’t exactly necessary, that were rushed, that weren’t discussed nearly enough. Then there were those 2% that basically consisted in a handful (maybe not even that) of scenes that had some things I like to watch, such as same-sex relationships and people learning from their mistakes.
I finished watching the show in four days and truthfully, I can’t really tell whether I was able to finish watching it because I had to or because it isn’t that bad. I’ve heard a couple of people saying they couldn’t barely finish the first episode and I definitely think the first episode was probably one of the hardest ones to watch, which makes me think that most of the criticism probably came from people that weren’t able to make it past the first episode.
Created by Lauren Gussis, Insatiable was accused of promoting eating disorders and fat-shaming even before it was released. An overweight girl got bullied, lost weight, wants to begin a new life and get her revenge, that is basically what the trailer shows, definitely not making it hard to see the series as controversial.
With Debby Ryan as Patty, the show starts showing her before the “transformation”, getting bullied because of her weight, being sad and thinking that not eating was her best option. She couldn’t be more wrong, may I add, after some disappointments, anger and pain, she is faced with a different body and a lawsuit. That’s when Bob Armstrong comes along, takes her under his wings and starts coaching her.
Images Credit: Instagram/insatiable / Edition: Laura Okida
Portrayed by Dallas Roberts, Bob is a lawyer and a beauty pageant coach who got falsely accused of something very polemic, which is something that, on one hand, tries to show how people can be manipulative and cruel when they don’t get what they want, but on the other hand, is a subject that could be treated in a different light. He was accused of molesting the girl he was coaching by her mom, and with the “Me Too” and “Time’s Up” movements this may have touched a sensitive spot, with many people – mostly males – saying the females who came forward were lying, this scene in specific can be seen as a “proof” that things like that could happen, but let’s be honest, it most probably wouldn’t.
Before continuing with the characters descriptions, I would like to make my opinion on beauty pageants clear, I think that most of them – I’m sure there are some that aren’t – are, as the name says, very much based on physical appearance. And the idea of judges looking at girls (and sometimes boys) and telling them if they think their beauty is up to society standards or not annoys me, most of them objectify women and girls when, in reality, we’re all beautiful in our own special way (men and boys too). Let’s continue now.
Nonnie Thompson, Patty’s best friend, is played by Kimmy Shields and goes through a self-discovery journey throughout the series, she starts figuring out her feelings for her best friend, which need to be sorted out, one thing lead to another, Nonnie understands that her friendship with Patty has to be worked on and that, sometimes, is important to put yourself first.
Images Credit: Instagram/insatiable / Edition: Laura Okida
Bob Armstrong’s nemesis, Christopher Gorham in real life, Bob Barnard is very competitive and wants his daughter, Magnolia, to participate and win every beauty pageant. Loves to take of his shirt and show of his muscles, he makes the other Bob’s life miserable when winning every single thing they both compete at, not to mention the fact that they have the same profession, lawyers.
Coralee Armstrong (Alyssa Milano) is a social climber that is trying to figure out who she is, having followed her husband’s steps for a long time, she feels that she lost herself and needs to find her independence, from Bob, from her kids, from who she used to be. Brick Armstrong (Michael Provost) is Bob and Coralee’s son that grows during the story, he begins as someone that is not very good at relationships but turns out to be a sensitive person that tries his best to make the person he likes happy.
Images Credit: Instagram/insatiable / Edition: Laura Okida
Magnolia Barnard (Erinn Westbrook) is Bob Barnard’s daughter, very competitive and sometimes feels like her family doesn’t care about her, which causes some problems, her mom, Etta Mae (Carly Hughes), is a doctor that is never home, and her father seems to only care about pageants’ wins. Patty’s mom, Angie Bladell (Sarah Colonna), had her very young, by accident, grew up in a very complicated family, which made her act in some ways that affected Patty and her mother-daughter relation.
Images Credit: Instagram/insatiable / Edition: Laura Okida
And that’s why I decided to use the term “insane” in the beginning, because there are so many controversial topics, and none of them were thoroughly explored. By insane I mean a big quantity. Lots of criticism has been sent to this series since they’ve talked about so many issues that were brought to the surface just to be buried after a few minutes. I’m not going to say if the series is bad or good, because I think this is the type of show that you need to watch and see it for yourself, everyone has a different way of digesting what they watch, and that allows people to think differently about everything.
In general I believe the show talked about how society treats and makes other people feel, with all the judgement and their conception of what is “normal” or not, the overall intention of Insatiable, from my perspective, was to tell people how judgmental society can be, whether is regarding physical appearance, mental health, sexuality or relationships, whether is regarding a man or a woman.
Image Credit: IMDb
If I could give an advice to Lauren Gussis, it would definitely be this one: be careful with what you put in your show if you’re going to use it just as a way to get somewhere with the story. If you talk about it, actually talk about it, especially if is something considered to be a trigger, such as eating disorders, people need to feel themselves represented in media in a way that will help them. I completely see what she was trying to do and point out, but it would be much appreciated if the series could open up a discussion and keep it going.
If you would like to see the trailer before watching the series and taking your own conclusions, just click here.