Netflix’s Forgotten 7-Episode Sci-Fi Show Still Hits Like a Punch to the Gut

One of Netflix’s Best 1-Season Sci-Fi Shows Still Hits Like a Punch to the Gut Image via Netflix Published Aug 16, 2026, 1:59 PM EDT Lenny Burnham grew up in Missoula, Montana. From an early age, he was obsessed with TV and loved creating websites and participating in fan forums for Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He attended New York University, where he studied Dramatic Writing with a focus in Television Writing. He hosts two podcasts about television, House of House: A House Rewatch Podcast and Chapter Surfing, a podcast discussing TV shows adapted from books. He’s previously had freelance articles published in Paste and Inverse. He is a gay trans man who is an expert in looking at television through the lens of LGBT representation. He’s also an avid shipper. The teen sci-fi show I Am Not Okay With This, developed by Jonathan Entwistle and Christy Hall, was released on Netflix in 2020. Although the show found an audience and was originally renewed for a second season, it was later canceled due to the added risks and expenses that would have accompanied filming during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although it only lasted a single seven-episode season, I Am Not Okay With This is still one of Netflix’s strongest shows, thanks to a lead performance by Sophia Lillis as well as how brutally it captures being an awkward, closeted teen. While it would’ve been great to get a second season with these characters, the ending is climactic enough that the show essentially still works as a miniseries. 'I Am Not Okay With This' Updates a Classic Sci-Fi Premise The premise of I Am Not Okay With This is simple: a teenage closeted lesbian discovers she has telekinetic powers. Although it’s actually based on a graphic novel by Charles Forsman, audiences will immediately notice the similarities to Stephen King’s Carrie, down to the fact that the climactic scene in the finale takes place at a school dance. The series opens with a flash-forward to the ending, showing the protagonist in a prom dress and covered in blood. After that glimpse of Carrie-esque iconography, the voiceover declares, “I’m a boring 17-year-old white girl.” The opening seems to be confronting the audience with an awareness of how well-trodden the misfit teen girl with telekinetic powers concept is, but the show then proceeds to set itself apart by digging into the protagonist’s inner life with well-observed emotional resonance. Lillis (Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves) gives an incredible performance, embodying Sydney Novak with an awkwardness that makes the audience root for her to come out of her shell and embrace her extraordinary power. Sydney navigates messy relationships with her best friend, Dina (Sofia Bryant), as well as a boy she considers dating, Stan Barber (Wyatt Oleff), and between these two primary connections, the show boldly explores the tightrope closeted teens navigate. 'I Am Not Okay With This' Explores Deep Emotional Territory I Am Not Okay With This takes place one year after the death of Sydney’s father, who she discovers had similar powers to the ones she is developing, creating a connection between the show's biggest emotional plotline and its sci-fi mystery. Sydney is deeply affected by the fact that her father is no longer around, and she can’t ask him for guidance. Not only is this a complication for the character, but the twist allows the series' sci-fi elements to serve as a metaphor for how confusing and scary it can be to navigate your teen years without anyone to talk to who’s been through the same things. The series smartly includes moments of small joy with Sydney and her friends, so anger and trauma hit harder. It captures that when you’re a lonely teen, the small wins feel incredible in a sea of devastating losses. In this way, I Am Not Okay With This sometimes feels more comparable to Freaks and Geeks than to other sci-fi shows. The teen drama aspect is so good you’ll sometimes forget you’re watching a sci-fi show, but when the telekinetic powers come into play, it makes for incredible television. Despite having only seven episodes, I Am Not Okay With This is still worth watching. While there are many stories of awkward young women discovering supernatural powers, including another adaptation of King's Carrie set to premiere this year from none other than horror maestro Mike Flanagan, Netflix's short-lived sci-fi series stands out because of its more explicit queer themes and a phenomenal performance by Lillis.