Let’s be honest, from the moment Netflix dropped the tone-deaf trailer for new teen revenge show Insatiable, the response was disastrous. Debby Ryan in her fat suit sparked a huge debate on the continued exploitation of different body shapes by Hollywood and, as most of us asked why it ever got made in the first place, over 150,000 people signed a petition to have it banned. But with the show debuting on Netflix over the weekend, was the backlash justified? Or was it just an overblown reaction to a show that’s actually not that bad.
Well, in a word, no. The casting is good, the acting is over the top in an entertaining way, but the plot makes it irredeemable. And the reviews are pretty unanimous. If you’re still unsure about whether to put yourself through 12 meandering episodes of Insatiable, the following hot takes may help. We warn you, it’s not pretty.
“Insatiable is just the latest example of Netflix not understanding teenagers,” says The Guardian, who link the major mishandling of controversial subjects to another Netflix production, 13 Reasons Why. “If there’s one thing more painful than watching Netflix’s newly released teen-sitcom Insatiable, it’s seeing how dismally it’s gone down.”
“Insatiable is worse than anyone could have predicted,” agrees Jezebel . “What do we actually want to see in a fat protagonist whose personal, bodily agency helps drive a show’s message? You can make many superficial reads of Insatiable and many of them are correct — but perhaps the most damning is that only Skinny Patty’s experience was worth telling, and her former fat self is literally demonised. I’m not sure what the answer is, but it’s not this.”
“You know what they say about there being no such thing as bad publicity?” asks Salon . “This Netflix series might be the exception.” While AV Club warns us “the best joke [in the whole series] is on anyone who watches the whole thing”. Ouch.
Might be best to just give this one a miss. Here’s a list of some female-led revenge movies worth your time instead.