Insatiable

Satire is hard to get right -- and many of the choices this well-meaning series makes renders its particular take particularly hard to swallow. Showrunner Lauren Gussis is on record as saying that she intended Insatiable to be a sort of "take 'em down from the inside" critique of beauty standards and bullying, inspired by her own rough social experiences as a teen. But delaying Patty's self-actualization until she's magically lost weight was a fatal decision that makes its satire toothless. A show about a larger-bodied person learning to accept herself and ignore the haters would have been a relatively fresh take, something not seen often in a medium where we're routinely asked to view model-gorgeous women as plain or even ugly just because she's wearing glasses or an unflattering hairstyle.

There's also the troubling matter of all the anti-fat messages this show slings. Even if they're meant as a joke, hearing characters -- especially those we're supposed to like! -- say things like "Nobody likes a fatty!" and "Pretty girls don't have to settle" is uncomfortable and unfunny. Humor should punch up -- and surprise. There's nothing surprising about voicing the kind of rote insults that litter Reddit posts. Insatiable's out-of-kilter violence is the final blow for woke viewers. Having been tortured for her body type her whole life, it's natural that Patty would be filled with rage. Enough rage to soak a sleeping man's bed in alcohol and try to set him alight? Um, maybe you could rethink that plan and send a sternly worded note instead? Like this unfortunately wrongheaded show, that revenge plan could use a makeover.