TV Show Review: My Mad Fat Diary

There's a spot reserved in my heart for teen British dramas. I love their humor, wit, and realistic approach to the teenage mind. They penetrate deeper than many American shows and they do so with class and honesty. My Mad Fat Diary is no exception. It debuted on E4 on 14 January 2013 and is currently in its second season.

Let's get to it:

The show is narrated by Rachel "Rae" Earl (Sharon Rooney), a 16 year-old girl just released from a psychiatric ward for self-harm and body image issues. She weighs a little over 100kg and has a hard time fitting in the real world after 4 months in the ward. She meets her childhood best friend Chloe and gets introduced to the gang; Chop (Jordan Murphy), Izzie (Ciara Baxendale), Archie (Dan Cohen) and Finn (Nico Mirallegro). She embarks on adventures with these great people but most of the time her self-esteem issues halt her from enjoying herself.

The cast aren't well-known, and most of them don't even have a Wikipedia page. Yet, they all play their roles perfectly. Sharon Rooney absolutely nailed the angsty teenage part. She brought so much life to the character and I am in love with her. The rest of the gang are also very good. Like most British dramas, they don't act over-the-top and fake. It's what I love most about British TV.

Because it's narrated by Rae, we don't know much about the characters except for when they interact with her. Only Chloe seems to have some sort of emotional-depth because she confides in Rae a lot. The rest of the characters are quite flat except for Finn, Rae's love interest. So we all end up being emotionally involved with Rae alone. This isn't like Skins, where each characters are round and contribute to the plot. This is all Rae; her mind, her world, her words, her.

Now, I don't usually get overly involved with a character (okay, I do, but not this much), but Rae strikes a chord in me. She has body image issues that resonate in me and a lot of other girls. They way she thinks is real and so visceral that it gives me chills. Instead of skipping the 'unnecessary' traits about the character, the show digs deep into Rae. It's aptly named My Mad Fat Diary because the narration is Rae writing into her diary. There are no qualms and no secrets in Rae's head, and it's quite refreshing to see a show so raw and in tune with the unstable emotions of a teenager. It's not whiny at all, on the contrary, it gives an in-depth look at why teenagers act the way they do. 

This show will make you cringe. You will feel secondhand embarrassment and you will want to punch the screen because of it. It makes you feel for Rae and the characters. Sometimes I can't even go through a scene because it's so heartbreaking or embarrassing that I end up pausing it to gather my composure. This show grabs me by the heart and pulls me in. 

It's such an honest show with subtle humor akin to daily life. I feel like I am watching a documentary sometimes. Her mental illness isn't 'part' of the show, it is the show. Her mental illness is everything. It is how she deals with life and love. It is how she treats her mother. Most importantly, it's how she treats herself. Everything is so real and it emphasizes the consistency of mental illness and how crippling it can be. I absolutely love it. 

If you want laugh-out-loud comedy, this is not for you. If you want your feelings provoked and your heart wrenched, then this is for you. You will not cry, but you will feel compassion and empathy. I give it an 8.8/10. You can watch the pilot here and if you want more, just browse through the recommended videos on the right sidebar.