10 new Netflix originals to keep you busy this April

SPECIAL – PRODUCTION STILLS / Netflix

Special: Season One – April 12

Special is an affirmative and uplifting Netflix original series about a gay man with cerebral palsy who decides to rewrite his life and go after what he wants.

This looks like Netflix trying to cash in on the success of shows like Atypical which focus on and humanizes differently abled characters, but with one important difference: Special is actually produced by and stars a differently abled individual.

Special is loosely based on the real-life memoirs of Ryan O’Connell (“I’m Special: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves”), who serves as the series star and also executive produces alongside Jim Parsons.

The trailer makes this Netflix original look like a palatable mix of light-hearted, uplifting comedy tempered by the dramatic struggle of a life lived with a disability.

Series star O’Connell looks like he gives a sweet, awkward, and beautifully relatable performance as Ryan, who is only looking for what anyone is looking for in life – happiness.

No Good Nick: Season One – April 15

This Netflix original is a twisted take on the family sitcom, in which teenage con artist Nick (Siena Agudong) lies her way into the hearts of an innocent family by claiming to be a distant relative. Sean Astin and Melissa Joan Hart star as the parents of the family, which really does make me feel old seeing as how these two were the teen stars of my own childhood.

The No Good Nick trailer shows clips of the drama caused by Nick’s arrival and the well-meaning family, as Nick cuts out a picture of herself and pastes it into a group photo of her new family.

Nick explains that no one sees the perfect con coming, especially inside their own family. As she coolly manipulates them into the desired position to make her one of their own, she introduces herself and says she’s up to no good.

What a clever little sociopath!