I Am Not Okay with This

I Am Not Okay with This is an American coming-of-age comedy-drama web television series, based on the comic book of the same name by Charles Forsman. It was released on Netflix on February 26, 2020. The series received positive reviews, with praise for the performances, particularly from Lillis and Oleff.

I Am Not Okay with This
Genre	Comedy-drama
Based on	I Am Not Okay with This by Charles Forsman
Developed by	Jonathan Entwistle Christy Hall
Directed by	Jonathan Entwistle
Starring	Sophia Lillis Wyatt Oleff Sofia Bryant Kathleen Rose Perkins
Narrated by	Sophia Lillis
Music by	Graham Coxon
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	7 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Shawn Levy Dan Cohen Dan Levine Josh Barry Jonathan Entwistle Christy Hall
Producer(s)	Buddy Enright Rand Geiger
Cinematography	Justin Brown
Editor(s)	Yana Gorskaya Dane McMaster Varun Viswanath
Running time	19–28 minutes
Production company(s)	21 Laps Entertainment Ceremony Pictures Raindrop Valley
Release
Original network	Netflix
Original release	February 26, 2020 (2020-02-26)
External links
Official website

Cast and characters

Main

• Sophia Lillis as Sydney "Syd" Novak, a 17-year-old girl who starts realizing she has telekinetic powers
• Wyatt Oleff as Stanley "Stan" Barber, Sydney's neighbor and friend
• Sofia Bryant as Dina, Sydney's best friend on whom Sydney has a crush
• Kathleen Rose Perkins as Maggie Novak, Sydney's widowed mother

Recurring

• Richard Ellis as Bradley "Brad" Lewis, Dina's jock boyfriend whom Sydney dislikes
• David Theune as Mr. File, the high school science teacher
• Zachary S. Williams as Ricky Berry, confident, monied jock and Brad's best friend
• Aidan Wojtak-Hissong as Liam Novak, Sydney's younger brother

Photographs of Alex Lawther and Jessica Barden are briefly used to represent their respectively portrayed characters James and Alyssa from The End of the F***ing World (2017–2019), the events of which are intended to be taking place simultaneously with those of I Am Not Okay With This.[1]

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Teleplay by	Original release date
1	"Dear Diary..."	Jonathan Entwistle	Jonathan Entwistle & Christy Hall	February 26, 2020 (2020-02-26)
Sydney Novak is a 17-year-old living with her mother and younger brother a year after the death of her father. Sydney is frustrated that they never talk about their father's suicide, and constantly argues with her mother. Her guidance counselor recommends that Sydney start a diary to channel her anger, and Sydney reluctantly agrees. Sydney meets up with her best friend Dina, who has begun dating jock Bradley Lewis. Suddenly, Bradley's nose starts bleeding, which Sydney is almost convinced was her doing. On her way home, she runs into Stanley Barber, her neighbor, who suggests they should hang out soon, to which Sydney reluctantly agrees. At home, she looks after her brother, Liam, who tells her about a kid who got into trouble for punching someone. Later that night, after a cold discussion with her mother, Sydney sits frustrated on the floor of her room when part of the wall cracks behind her.
2	"The Master of One F**k"	Jonathan Entwistle	Christy Hall	February 26, 2020 (2020-02-26)
The next morning, Sydney convinces herself that the wall collapsing was a result of the house being old. Her mother asks her to get groceries and Sydney asks Dina if she would give her a ride after school. However, Dina admits that she's going to the pep rally and the football game. Feeling betrayed, Sydney takes a walk, throwing some stones, one of which knocks over a sign, startling her. She then recruits Stanley for his car, but falls short of money to pay for groceries and begins to put food back. While Sydney is attempting to calm down in an aisle of the store, the food in said aisle falls off the shelves, causing Sydney to run out of the store after Stan walks over to check on her. Stan believes that Sydney has had a panic attack, and talks to her outside. Afterwards, they go to the football game and then to Stan's house, where they kiss.
3	"The Party's Over"	Jonathan Entwistle	Liz Elverenli	February 26, 2020 (2020-02-26)
Sydney confides in Dina that she had sex with Stan the night before, but hides her true feelings. Afterwards, she walks Liam home and they encounter Liam's school bully, Richard. Sydney confronts him, but when her powers fail during this confrontation, she gives him a warning to back off. At home, Sydney goes into the basement to find puzzles for Liam, a part of the house in which Sydney has not been since her father's death. Feelings of grief overwhelm her and she has a panic attack, shaking the house and killing Liam's pet hedgehog. Sydney later goes to a party, finally getting the chance to spend time with Dina, but Brad comes and takes her away. Later, Stan asks her to homecoming, to which she gives him a reluctant yes. Later, Sydney finds an upset Dina, alone in a room after an intense argument with Brad. Sydney comforts her and kisses her thereafter. Dina reacts, unnerved by it, Sydney leaves in a rush and heads to a spot alone in the woods. She screams, causing the trees surrounding her to fall to the ground.
4	"Stan by Me"	Jonathan Entwistle	Tripper Clancy	February 26, 2020 (2020-02-26)
Following Sydney's incident in the forest, she realizes that Stan saw everything and she swears him to secrecy before running off. The next day, Sydney's mother asks her to look after Liam again, and she and Sydney get into an argument, in which Sydney's mother tells Sydney her father wasn't who she thought he was. Later, Sydney runs out of class, almost triggering her powers again, but stops them by thinking about happy memories. Dina runs after her and asks if she's okay and if they can talk about their kiss, but Sydney lies and says everything is fine. Sydney goes to the bowling alley and meets with Stan, who tries to help her understand her powers. There, she admits the trees blew down because she kissed someone at the party and says her powers seem to be tied to her emotions. Stan then tries to trigger Sydney's powers by making her angry, and in the process, Sydney almost hits Stan with bowling balls, angering her. While Sydney is walking home, she believes she sees a figure following behind her.
5	"Another Day in Paradise"	Jonathan Entwistle	Tripper Clancy	February 26, 2020 (2020-02-26)
During class, Dina and Brad are caught cheating on a test and given detention; Sydney and Stan are given detention for protesting this. In detention are the four of them and their classmate Jenny. She suggests that, instead of cleaning the bleachers, as they were instructed to, they play "Fuck, Marry, Kill", but Sydney runs off in anger after Jenny suggests that Sydney isn't "fuckable". Running into the library, Sydney inadvertently knocks over all the bookshelves with her powers, and she and Stan recruit Dina to steal the security footage, telling her the reason is that the tapes show them having sex in the library. The three devise a plan and break into the office, successfully stealing the footage. In the locker room, Sydney overhears Jenny and Brad admitting they had sex and Brad cheated on Dina. When Dina walks in, Sydney tells her, despite Brad's pleas for her not to, and Dina and Brad break up. Sydney tells Stan what happened in the library: something else was making the lights flicker, and she felt like she was not alone.
6	"Like Father, Like Daughter"	Jonathan Entwistle	Christy Hall	February 26, 2020 (2020-02-26)
Looking at the security footage, Sydney questions her sanity before angrily snapping at Stan. At school, Brad confronts Sydney, angry that he caused him and Dina to break up. In anger, Sydney causes the lockers behind him to slam open. Later, Dina confronts Sydney about what was actually on the tape, but Sydney refuses to tell her. At Liam's school, he tries talking to his crush, Veronica, before Richard punches him. At lunch, Ricky Berry tells Brad about a rumor about him, while Stan tries to make plans with Sydney about homecoming. She gets angry at him, telling him that she doesn't care about homecoming and he asks someone else. Sydney tells her counselor about the man she saw, and her counselor convinces her that they were hallucinations of her father. At home, Liam calls Sydney out for her terrible behavior lately, citing his black eye from Richard and her horrible attitude. In an attempt to get more answers, Sydney goes through her father's belongings in the basement, where her mother describes her father as having had similar experiences to Sydney's. When Sydney goes to write in her diary, she finds it missing.
7	"Deepest, Darkest Secret"	Jonathan Entwistle	Christy Hall & Jenna Westover	February 26, 2020 (2020-02-26)
The next morning, Sydney decides to take a happy attitude to the situation and makes amends with her brother. In gym, Dina admits she feels distanced from Sydney, and Sydney tells her about her "grief hallucinations". Afterwards, Sydney tells Dina that she and Stan are not going to homecoming. Dina asks Sydney to go with her, since neither of them have dates. Later, Brad tells Ricky that the dance was going to be mind-blowing. At the dance, Sydney talks with Stan, who admits his feelings for her, but Sydney tells him she only sees him as a friend. Stan asks whether Dina knows about her powers, to which Sydney says that only he does. While dancing together, Dina and Sydney talk about their kiss, and Dina tells Sydney she "didn't not like" it. While the homecoming king and queen are being announced, Brad interrupts, and it is revealed he took Sydney's diary. He exposes Sydney's feelings for Dina and her recent problems at home. Before he can expose her powers, in anger, Sydney blows his head up killing him. Shocked, Sydney runs off into the woods, climbing a watch tower in the woods when a man appears from the shadows. When Sydney asks if she should be afraid of him, he replies that she should not, but everyone should be afraid of them.

Production

Development

On December 12, 2018, it was announced that Netflix had given the production a series order for an eight-episode first season, of which only seven were produced. The series was created by Jonathan Entwistle and Christy Hall, who are credited as executive producers alongside Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, Dan Cohen, and Josh Barry.[2] Entwistle also directed the series.[3] The series was released on February 26, 2020.[4] The series was renewed by Netflix for a second season.[5]

Casting

Alongside the series announcement, it was announced that Sophia Lillis, Sofia Bryant, Wyatt Oleff, and Kathleen Rose Perkins would star in the series, with Aidan Wojtak-Hissong and Richard Ellis recurring in the series.[6]

Filming

Filming commenced in Pittsburgh in June 2019.[6] The town of Brownsville, Pennsylvania[7] served as a primary location, while Wilmerding's Westinghouse Arts Academy Charter School was used as the high school exterior.[8]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an 86% approval rating with 65 reviews, with an average rating of 6.82/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "As awkward and charming as adolescence, but with twice the supernatural twists, I Am Not Okay With This' first season at times veers into shallow territory, but Sophia Lillis' strong performance keeps it afloat."[9] Review aggregator Metacritic gave the series a score of 68 out of 100 based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[10]

References

1. "'I Am Not Okay with This' on Netflix: That 'The End of the F***ing World' Easter Egg Explained". 2020-02-26.
2. Andreeva, Nellie (December 12, 2018). "Netflix Orders Coming-Of-Age Series 'I Am Not Okay with This' From Jonathan Entwistle & Shawn Levy Based On Comic". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
3. Strause, Jackie (June 10, 2019). "Netflix's 'I Am Not Okay With This' Adaptation Casts Sophia Lillis as Lead". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
4. See What's Next [@seewhatsnext] (January 21, 2020). "Sophia Lillis, Wyatt Oleff, and Sofia Bryant star in I Am Not Okay With This, a truly super coming of age series from the producers of #StrangerThings and the director of The End of the F***ing World that's kinda like if John Hughes made X-Men — FIRST LOOK:" (Tweet). Retrieved February 3, 2020 – via Twitter.
5. ozdiyar, Yunus Emre (August 8, 2020). "I Am Not Okay with This season 2 coming to Netflix in 2021".
6. Bennett, Anita (June 10, 2019). "'I Am Not Okay With This': Sophia Lillis To Star, Wyatt Oleff, Kathleen Rose Perkins Among Six Cast In Netflix Coming-Of-Age Series Based On Comic". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
7. O’Keefe, Meghan (February 26, 2020). "'I Am Not Okay With This' Filming Locations: Welcome to Brownsville, PA". Decider. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
8. Guggenheimer, Paul (February 24, 2020). "Western Pennsylvania-filmed 'I Am Not Okay With This' debuts on Netflix". TribLive. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
9. "I Am Not Okay with This: Season 1 (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
10. "I Am Not Okay with This: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved March 7, 2020.

External links

• I Am Not Okay with This on Netflix
• I Am Not Okay with This on IMDb