Someone needs to say it: Netflix needs to stay in their own lane.

While they have constructed a plethora of brilliant shows including Stranger Things and Love is Blind, it seems as though they are overdoing the production of what they put out. It seems that they are focusing on the numerical value of what is being put out rather than the quality. The perfect example of this would be one of their newest additions I Am Not Okay With This.

I had an issue with the show from the very beginning. While, typically, the actors play a the most significant role in deciding if a show will be good or not, it instead was the plot.

The plot doesn’t take only one lane.

Young seventeen-year-old, Syd Novak (Sophia Lillis), is dealing with a lot in her high school experience: she is considered awkward and strange while her best friend is dating the star football player. Syd’s father killed himself, and due to how close they were, she is undoubtedly affected in a very negative way. She and her mom have also completely lost their relationship. The most shocking surprise of all, however, is that Syd also has the ability to move objects around her based on her emotions.

While all of this sounds as though it would make for an epic TV show, it sadly did not keep my attention, and I cannot piece together why. 

Upon the first two episodes, it was difficult for me to stay engaged and to desire to watch more; it never kept up with my short attention span.

The show couldn’t pick a tone either. Sometimes, you would laugh at how weird the friendship is between Syd and her neighbor Stanley Barber (Wyatt Oleff). At other times, however, you would feel anxious at how Syd would ultimately handle her very unique powers. There were also points in which you would feel sorrow for her due to the closeness she had with her father and how his death has hurt her. While I love a show with multiple tones, this one seemed to be tugging me in numerous different directions in an unpleasantly sharp manner.

What saved the show and prevented me from totally loathing it was the quality of the actors’ performances. Both Wyatt and Sophia were featured in the hit film It, which proved to be a high success, and because of the quality of actors featured, I was optimistic that I Am Not Okay With This would reflect their skills.

It is safe to say that I was utterly disappointed. It was not because of their talents but instead the direction and the set up of the plot.The show had the bones to strive; however, the way each scene played out could have been produced at a higher quality level.

Furthermore, this show required a lot of patience—which I do not have—to get to the rising action of the plot. For almost five out of the seven episodes, it tells of how Syd survives high school, not knowing really who she is, as well as having to deal with tumultuous friendships.

It was not until the end of episode five that I finally was excited about the plot. Yet, even though it thickened at the end, it only took too much patience out of me to get there; it was simply not worth it.

Netflix needs to stay in its lane of either streaming shows or producing high-quality material; it is high time that they steer clear from focusing on the numbers of shows and movies that they put out.