If you haven’t yet, take two hours and treat yourself to the magic that is “Special.” The groundbreaking semi-autobiographical show by Netflix and Stage13 is adapted from Ryan O’Connell’s book, “I’m Special: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves. As the first of its kind to show the life of a gay, disabled man, “Special” is a vivid and wholly original story. You’ll be surprised how often you can both cry and laugh during each fifteen-minute episode.
We worked with the team behind “Special” to give you a taste of what it was like to bring this story to your screen. Catch our three-part series below and the show streaming on Netflix.
Like his character in the show, O’Connell lived for twenty-eight years in denial about his cerebral palsy. Through his writing, he was able to create a hilariously endearing piece of art about his experience.
“Growing up gay and disabled. Spoiler alert: I didn’t love it.”
Making a show takes a village. We sat down with the incredible cast and production teams behind the creation of “Special.”
“The most amazing thing about being a queer person is that a lot of the time, you get to choose your family. You get to find people who bring out the best in you and who teach you more about yourself than you even knew of yourself.”
The cast, crew, and audience of “Special” share how powerful an honest, funny, and endearing representation of sexuality and disability truly is. Watch for their messages of inspiration to queer youth!
“As hard as it is, always hold on to who you are and never be afraid to express yourself because the most precious gift that you have is your identity.”
