Even before Netflix released Insatiable on August 10, people were calling for its cancellation. Now, despite controversy and a slew of negative reviews, Insatiable season 2 is officially hitting screens 2019, the streaming site announced yesterday.
Critics have penalized the show for fat-shaming and for dealing with LGBT issues, sexual assault and bullying in a problematic way.
When the trailer dropped in July, over 200,000 people signed a petition urging Netflix to cancel the series.
“My initial reaction was, I never wanted to cause anybody any pain, and if the trailer did that to people, that was very hard for me,” Alyssa Milano, who co-stars with Debby Ryan, told Metro in response to the backlash. “But the more I sat with it and really understood what was happening, the more I realized the reaction was a good indicator for how much shame hurts us.”
“This show is about not judging someone or something upon first glance,” she continued, “and yet here was a minute and 40 seconds pulled from 12 hours of television that people were judging upon first glance.”
“It’s about how appearances impact the interactions we have with each other, which is obviously not a new topic, since labels like these that have been pinned on us since the beginning of time,” Milano argued. “But critiquing something because of how it looks on the surface is exactly what this show is trying to shine a light on.”
Showrunner Lauren Gussis told BuzzFeed News that Insatiable is supposed to be satirical and that satire was meant to address “a lot of really sensitive issues … in a way that isn’t necessarily the way that you ‘should’ talk about them.”
Gussis also shared a personal note about the show on social media, writing: “When I was 13, I was suicidal. My best friends dumped me, I was bullied, and I wanted revenge. I thought if I looked pretty on the outside, I’d feel like I was enough. Instead, I developed an eating disorder…and the kind of rage that makes you want to do dark things. … The show is a cautionary tale about how damaging it can be to believe the outsides are more important — to judge without going deeper.”
However, backlash only persisted after the show premiered in August and continues now that Insatiable season 2 has been confirmed.
Twitter reacts to Insatiable season 2
Though fans expressed their excitement — many argue that they understand Gussis’ satirical approach and genuinely think it’s funny — critics took to Twitter upon Netflix’s Insatiable season 2 announcement. Read their responses below:
Netflix’s @insatiable_ is getting renewed for season 2 =_=
Nobody, and I mean NOBODY!! asked for it!!@netflix why you gotta cancel all the good shows and bring back trash like this?— Nikhita Thomas (@PoopsyDScoopsy) September 13, 2018
are you kidding me? does no one care about creating good, positive content anymore?
— ? ?? ACoupleOfCows (@acoupleofcows) September 12, 2018
but how the fuck is insatiable getting a season 2 when it has gotten mostly negative feedback??????
— aroa ? (@anneskavinsky) September 13, 2018
Sorry Not To Bother you was satire, and I loved it. Birdman was satire, loved it. I’d say I have a basic understanding of satire. The reviews don’t lie. This show was awful.
— Tristan (@iTristanX) September 12, 2018
one had a great coming of age story and the other was pretty problematic. guess which one was renewed by Netflix today? ? #insatiable #everythingsucks pic.twitter.com/1slV40HF45
— dani. (@miasthermopolis) September 12, 2018
Ok, I hate saying bad words to shows, but that show doesn’t deserve to be renewed
Why don’t #SaveShadowhunters, show what talk about love, friendships, family, positivity and have really big fandom?— гє๒єкค #ilovelucifer #SaveSH (@Re_Bu_Nia) September 12, 2018
Decider argues that Netflix renewed the show because “hate-watching is still watching.” And many people, like the two below, agree.
A 712th reminder that hate watching is still watching. That watching “just to see if it’s that bad” is still watching. That watching “because everyone is talking about how bad it is” is still watching.https://t.co/KgXuXFBfcG
— ladyteruki (@ladyteruki) September 13, 2018
hey idiots
instead of hate watching insatiable
why not watch
– next gen
– stranger things
– okja
– disenchantment
– the meyerowitz stories
– girlboss
– the little princeyou know
stuff that’s good and deserves your attention
— Sam (@Arielrocks5) September 13, 2018
Prior to the Insatiable season 2 announcement from Netflix, lead actress Debby Ryan tweeted in cryptic fashion, “If you didn’t like that, you’re gonna hate this.”
