Common Sense Media Review
By Joyce Slaton
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Complex, fun Australian comedy has drugs, sex, insights.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Wellmania
What's the Story?
Intent on getting from Australia to New York to pitch herself as a TV judge on a food competition show, WELLMANIA's Liv Healy (Celeste Barber) faints in a U.S. Consulate office. She awakens to the news that doctors won't clear her to fly to the U.S. Now she has just four weeks to turn her health around, and to repair her relationships with her mom (Genevieve Mooy), brother (Lachlan Buchanan), and best friend Amy (JJ Fong). Based on the book Wellmania by author Brigid Delany.
Is It Any Good?
A light comedy about heavy matters, this Australian show succeeds on two levels: as a satire of modern wellness efforts, and as a hero's journey about a woman trying to fulfill her dreams. Celeste Barber makes a fine, louche version of Wellmania author Brigid Delaney, gamely throwing herself into a lifestyle a character describes as "intense" before hurling herself just as intensely at the world of cleanses and mind-and-body workouts. At the same time, Wellmania takes a long look at Liv's family -- how they relate to each other, how they drive each other nuts, how they alternately support and needle each other.
As viewers might guess, all the self-improvement from the outside in eventually gets to the deeply buried truth Liv's been living with, and running away from, too long. And it's here that Wellmania really shines, delicately illuminating the connection between outer drama that's generated to distract a character from inner toil. Barber is by turns hilarious and heartbreaking, and so is Wellmania.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the challenges that come with importing a show from another country to the United States (and vice versa). Would Wellmania have been a good choice for American network or cable TV?
Liv makes a lot of decisions that are sometimes mean and potentially destructive. Does the fact that she's grieving justify her behavior? Why, or why not?
Are we supposed to like Liv or any of these characters? How does a show signal what the main character is, and why we should sympathize with them?
TV Details
- Premiere date : March 29, 2023
- Cast : Celeste Barber , Lachlan Buchanan , JJ Fong
- Network : Netflix
- Genre : Comedy
- TV rating :
- Last updated : April 2, 2023
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