If you’ve yet to set your eyes on it, the latest Netflix series “I Am Not Okay with This” is a must-watch. Starring Sophia Lillis and based on a comic book by Charles Forsman (whose work was also adapted in the streaming service’s “The End of the F***ing World”) the show is a genre cocktail mixing together science fiction lore, coming of age drama and Young Adult-style romance, culminating in something equal parts as touching as it is thrilling.
Playing loose with runtimes, with many episodes that clock in at around 30 minutes each, our critic called it “universal,” writing “creators Jonathan Entwistle and Christy Hall add a twist in healthy dose of mystery and superpowers, resulting in a Netflix original that will delight, surprise, and evoke some genuine emotions from its viewers.” We spoke with show-creator Christy Hall about the process of moving from theater to television, working with soon-to-be superstar Sophia Lillis and the importance of a character like Syd.
How did you get involved in the series?
Well, I live in New York and come from the theater world. I’m a playwright and am also involved in musicals, my hyper-focus has been manifesting anything to do with theater. I’ve always wanted to write for film and television, it’s just that art takes time. What happened was in 2017, so not that long ago, a two-person play of mine called “Daddio” landed in my manager’s lap. I transferred the piece into a screenplay and literally a few months later it landed pretty high on The Black List. That was kind of what introduced me to the town, and then the next trip ended up with me transferring another spec of mine which also ended up on the high on The Black List the next year, so that’s how I ended up in the feature space. It was just announced that Justin Baldoni is going to direct an adaptation of one of my screenplays at Lionsgate, and I have other films I’m working for down the road as well. In the television side of things, when it was announced that one of Charles Forsman’s graphic novels was being made into a TV show on the heels of “The End of the F***ing World”, the production company 21 Laps had had good experiences working with me in the past and threw my name in. In August of 2018 we went to Netflix and pitched it and the ball kept rolling.
What were the challenges of transitioning from theater to television?
I went from theater to the feature space – this is my first television series and in a lot of ways I feel like I’m coming back home. My theater training and background is an invaluable training ground. A lot of feature writers will write stuff and they’ll never get to hear their words spoken out loud. They’re even barely exposed to the ability to listen to your work and then do re-writes on it. In the theater space, you write something and you’re practically a co-director and a producer on it. You’re there from the inception to auditions, to hours of rehearsals, becoming a huge part of the creative team when it comes to re-writes. There’s a huge process of what happens when gauging audience response and it’s this incredible gestation of being super activated in the work.
What I love about television is that there is a reverence to who writers are and what they bring to the table and it’s not even a question that you are then executive producer, creator, showrunner. It felt more to me like theater in that way. It’s just been incredible and I love it.
Is there a specific type of story that you’re drawn to as a writer? What is so interesting about “I Am Not Okay with This” is that it sort of defies genre.
I typically write things in the adult space so this is kind of my first young adult adventure. It was important to me that if I was going to play in this space that it was something I would’ve appreciated as a teenager in terms of allowing it to be witty and smart. Kids are extremely intelligent and to acknowledge that I found deeply important. In terms of the kind of stories I’m drawn to, I love playing in very eclectic spaces. I have this very elevated science fiction love story that’s kind of like “Gattaca” meets “Gravity” meets “Once.” I have a feminist genre movie called “Get Home Safe” and then I have “Daddio” which is an adult drama that’s basically just a conversation in a cab ride. I love story, I love character. Typically I write more for the adult space but I like how that can take different forms. I’m very interested in “why this story” and “why now” – there has to be a point to it. If those things are there and the characters are there then I really like playing in different spaces.