TV: How Bad is Insatiable?

Insatiable is a weird show. It's a Netflix original series that had an awful trailer, sending plenty of Twitter users into full rage mode - and I can fully sympathise with that negative visceral reaction that so many people had. The trailer painted a horrible picture. However, while the show certainly does have its cons, I think it's on par with an awful lot of American comedy-drama shows being made at the moment in terms of a sort of catty melodramatic style that wants to ridicule the culture it's born out of (like Scream Queens, or on the much more serious end, 13 Reasons Why).

The most glaring negative to me is not so much it's treatment of weight-related topics, which are more even-handed and nuanced than the trailer suggested (although by no means ideal), but rather its humour concerning sexual abuse - particularly a prominently featured false allegation played for laughs. There are some more 'edgy' moments which leave a bitter taste regarding various topics, but the show's treatment of weight is generally of much more nuanced presentation than other sensitive topics.

My favourite thing about Insatiable, and easily the reason I'm actually glad I watched it, is Bob Barnard, a.k.a. Henry from Ugly Betty, a.k.a. Christopher Gorham. The guy is a sensational actor, here playing just about the polar opposite of his Ugly Betty character - a confident, almost smug man who has a reason to remove his shirt in every episode. I just love him. He deserves better than this, really, but I will be using the screenshot at the head of this post (of him lying in front of an indoor picnic) as a response image at any and every moment I am given the chance. So for that, maybe it was worth it.

I also love Nonnie's outfits (pictured below), but while there are some fun snippets and some great actors here, calling Insatiable 'good' would be a stretch. It's awful, but it was a pretty entertaining watch for me. There's definitely much better TV being made at the moment (like, in my opinion, Glow, Good Girls, and Santa Clarita Diet), but I wouldn't call this the worst, either. It's bad... in a way that can potentially be fun. Or not.