From FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS to PARENTHOOD, TV showrunner Jason Katims has been looking for a “Braverman” worthy challenge in narrative. With AS WE SEE IT, he accepts that challenge as he showcases three roommates on the autism spectrum, trying to live a “normal life.”
The three roommates are Jack (Rick Glassman), Violet (Sue Ann Pien), and Harrison (Albert Rutecki). Each actor (and character) shine in their unique way making for one of the best representations in media for autism. It’s rare, honest, and moving to the point of THIS IS US tears, and it deserves to be seen by as many people as possible.
I usually do my SFR work solo, with my family sometimes watching in the background. It’s infrequent for my wife (Kara Goldstein) to get so invested in a show that she has to finish it in a weekend. With AS WE SEE IT, that’s exactly what happened. We both laughed and cried while we thought about our current family along with our future baby on the way.
Kara’s take on season one is much more eloquently written than anything I could do:
Kara:Â Â AS WE SEE IT’s first season helps stretch the heart and open the mind towards understanding people on the autism spectrum and those who care for them. I fell deeply in love with each character’s step forward and step back as it made me feel closer to them and their experience of living in a world that doesn’t get it. The pause after the question, “what’s the big deal about normal?” had me overcome with a reassuring acceptance that we all crave. It is not a “burden,” but a “gift” to binge these eight episodes on Amazon Prime Video.Â
A big thank you to Jason Katims for still striving to deliver content worthy of the motto, “clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.” Regardless of the ratings for AS WE SEE IT, you can’t lose when you follow your heart, and that’s what the cast/crew did with this small TV gem.
