As We See It

Powerful, emotionally honest, and by turns hilarious and heart-rending, this dramedy about three roommates with autism spectrum disorder trying to navigate their confusing adult lives is simply beautiful. Every young adult, of course, feels something like an imposter; the rules of being a grownup at all, much less a successful one, are usually learned by breaking them. But to Violet, Jack, and Harrison, the customs of everyday life are almost inexplicable, and they only rarely understand the point of fitting in at all. Jack's technical know-how is enough to land him a software job, though his brutal honesty turns off coworkers and potential friends alike. Violet is just barely able to hold down a job making sandwiches at Arby's and mistakes anyone who gives her attention for either her new best friend or a potential boyfriend. And for his part, Harrison can barely leave the apartment at all; walking a few blocks and order his own croissant is a major victory.

Even so, each roommate is lovable, as we begin to understand what it's like to be each of them. After all, who can't relate to Violet's search for connection, for the overwhelming world of smells and sounds that make Harrison want to hide inside, to Jack's impatience with all the falseness of relating to other people? Alternately painful and triumphant, their stories feel individual and lived-in, perhaps because showrunner Jason Katims has a son on the autism spectrum, perhaps because each of the actors playing the show's central trio of roommates identifies as being on the spectrum, perhaps because this show portrays these particular characters just right: as distinct individuals whose struggles and successes are just as messy as everyone else's.