Pretty Much Nobody Is Cool With Netflix’s New Fat-Shaming TV Show

On July 19th, Netflix released the trailer for their newest original, “coming of rage” series, Insatiable. The dark comedy revolves around a previously overweight teen who seeks revenge on her bullies after slimming down. But because of this plot, Insatiable is catching a lot of flack from body-positive activists who find it to be potentially harmful for viewers who may struggle with their own self-confidence.

Insatiable follows Patty, a high school student played by Debby Ryan (in a fat suit). After a physical assault, Patty must get her jaw wired shut, and therefore loses a significant amount of weight. She’s then considered one of the “hot girls” amongst her peers. But rather than using her newfound hotness to climb up the social ladder, she uses it to get revenge.

For obvious reasons, many people who watched the Netflix trailer were turned off by its “fat-shaming” theme. The plot plays into the overused and outdated stereotype of “skinny equals hot,” which we thought we left back in the late ’90s/early 2000s with all the other makeover movies.

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Again, we’re seeing curves and excess weight deemed as negative, which plays into the damaging societal ideals the body-positivity movement is working to change.

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Twitter is currently aflame with tweets calling this series “toxic,” “trash,” and “lukewarm watery oatmeal.”

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It’s unclear how Netflix will move forward with promoting Insatiable, which is set to air on the streaming site on August 10th. For the sake of everyone who plans on watching the series, let’s hope there is more thought behind the plot than what we’re seeing in this trailer.