'My Mad Fat Diary' Is One of TIME's 50 Most Underappreciated TV Shows
Time · LC · trust 27/100
Oh, to have been 16 years old in mid-1990s England, when Britpop had gone global, the U.K. was the center of the pop-culture universe, and the word Brexit meant nothing to anyone. It sounds like a blast, but not all Cool Britannia comings-of-age were created equal. Based on Rae Earl’s 2007 memoir in diary entries, this 2013 drama follows a depressive, 231-lb., working-class high school girl who, when we meet her, has just been released from a psychiatric institution following a suicide attempt. Yet it’s anything but a downbeat drag. Rae, portrayed with remarkable sensitivity by Sharon Rooney, is at heart a sensualist yearning for community and pleasure, and the show’s emotional intensity reflects that often-frustrated lust for life. Her first taste of reciprocation comes via her gorgeous best friend, Chloe ( Jodie Comer in an early role), who initiates her into a fun-loving coed clique. Unlike the typical TV fat girl, she gets the kind of swooning romance arc that YouTube montages are made of. As Rae and her crew bond, wallow, and heal through the songs that mean everything to them, that music— Oasis , Blur , Radiohead, Portishead—soundtracks their every rite of passage. If you were there (or wished you were), prepare to feel the rush of nostalgia. And if not? A new world of “Champagne Supernova” sing-alongs and extremely specific teen angst awaits.
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