I hate this fucking show. The fact that it's run by the same dude who made House is mindboggling.
this post was submitted on 22 Oct 2025
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Based on a Korean show, it's called The Good Doctor.
Oh yeah. The trope of shows portraying autistic people as savants with superpowers is hilarious to me, because every autistic person is just like “this is ridiculously not what it’s like to be autistic” and they’re always written by the most ignorant non-autistic people ever.
Shhhh don't tell them we aren't all super savants bro. Let us have our moment.
can you name a tv program with a good authistic protagonist? I just want to compare
Abed from Community
Anything Star Trek. While a lot of these characters are not written to be autistic, they fucking are.
It always seemed obvious to me this show is written by people on the spectrum.
xddd
Atypical. While the protagonist’s actor isn’t autistic and the first season was criticised for a lack of autistic actors, the latter seasons did include autistic actors. Generally I think it did a decent portrayal of someone with ASD (which can be hard given the wide breadth of how neurodivergent people present).
I said this in another comment, but he commits several crimes over the course of the show and there are never consequences. It's not a good portrayal.
The only good portrayal of autism in that show is the main character's sister, but sadly that's only head canon.
As We See It. The three main characters are played by actors on the spectrum. It's really good
Oh! Also, I love Extraordinary Attorney Woo Young Woo, though it is a Idiot Savant trope, it's just so good.
Movies, The Accountant. It's just so good and avoids the savant trope.
I love Woo Young Woo, even with the Savant trope. She has some really relatable traits and the series feels so wholesome.
Will Graham from Hannibal, the TV show. I've always loved his subtle performance.
That's a head canon, unfortunately.
Characters in the show, including Will Graham, all say he is on the spectrum.
Bryan Fuller, the creator, stated he isn't. Characters speculating on a diagnosis aren't a diagnosis, nor representation. Plus, Will's original comment implies the spectrum he's speaking of is the neurodivergent spectrum (though with a very big misunderstanding on what that even is). The full quote is:
"Where do you fall on the spectrum?"
"My horse is hitched to a post that is closer to Asperger's and autistics than narcissists and sociopaths"
"But you can empathize with narcissists and sociopaths."
"I can empathize with anybody. It's less to do with a personality disorder than an active imagination."
Which is Will denying that he has any of these conditions, but he'd be closest to autism if anything.
Touche.
That Tumblr article is really reaching. I don't think that quote supports the insinuation that Fuller thinks all autistic people are incapable of empathy.
I was just looking for a source for the quote, but agreed.
My kids enjoy Carl the Collector on PBS. Seems like a pretty authentic portrayal based on my (albeit limited) experience.
Okay, I am not autistic so take my opinion with a grain of salt. I think the protagonist of Atypical is a good example. I have heard autistic people say Drax from Guardians of the Galaxy. I have also heard them say Sonic The Hedgehog, but that may stem from hyper fixation with certain media or hobbies. I wanna say Forrest Gump but I haven’t seen that movie in a long time and I feel like there could be some problematic things in there I’m not remembering.
Atypical is... bad. The main character tends to be an absolute asshole and the show doesn't call it out. It treats him with kid's gloves, even when it's absolutely not deserved.
He commits several crimes over the course of the show and there are no consequences. It portrays his parents as being destroyed by his condition, which is a very hurtful trope (one perpetuated by Autism Speaks)
Ironically, it does have a well written autistic character... in his sister. Her story is much more engaging as well. She is a head canon, though.
Honestly, enjoyed Alphas. Gary's so much fun.
Big bang theory? Love on the Spectrum, I would say Mr Robot, but that goes way beyond ASD
Big Bang Theory has no autistic characters, despite Jim Parsons' stereotypical portrayal. He's written that way to make fun of people with ASD, but with plausible deniability.
Also, I love the people on Love on the Spectrum, but despise the editing. The cutesy music feeds into an infantilization that the edit then reinforces.