Today is World Autism Awareness Day.
As such we thought Thursday April 2, 2015 would be the ideal day to do our part in raising awareness about autism the only way we know how: By talking television!
Now we know what you’re thinking. How on earth is your very own TV Addict going to help raise awareness about autism, a subject we are the first to admit we know very little about? Simple. By using our little corner of the internet to send a message to one of our favorite showrunners: Jason Katims, we have found your next project.
As mentioned earlier in the week on this site, the TV Addict was recently afforded the opportunity to learn more about television and technology in Israel (Thanks again Vibe Israel). And while it wasn’t much of a surprise that we left the country with a wonderful lasting impression of both the people and what they have been able to accomplish over the past fifty or sixty years, the one thing we didn’t expect to be left marvelling at was a little known Israeli television show called, of all things, YELLOW PEPPER (Pilpelim Tsehubim in Hebrew)
YELLOW PEPPER — or as it’s being referred to by the BBC who are currently developing it for the UK market “The A Word,” — tells the heartbreaking and hilarious tale of a family coming to grips with the Aspergers diagnosis of their son. That being said, much in the same way that FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS isn’t just about football, YELLOW PEPPER is about so much more than autism. Watching the first two episodes (with english subtitles) overlooking the Dead Sea (Pictured above our group left right: Jessica Reese, Cynopsis Media; Olllie Franklin-Wallis, Wired UK; Romy Kraus, Showrunner Magazine; Jordan Chariton, The Wrap; Daniel Malen, theTVaddict.com’ Joshua Cohen, Tubefilter) we were not only struck by how relatable the show’s themes were, but by how perfectly the brains behind FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS and PARENTHOOD would be able to translate it for American (and by extension Canadian) television. The show is a roller-coaster ride of emotional highs and lows punctuated by the perfect amount of humor. In other words, YELLOW PEPPER has all the trappings of your typical Jason Katims series.
Seriously Mr. Katims, stop what you’re doing and have your people call Keshet’s people now. You can thank us later in your Emmy acceptance speech!
Second Photo Credit: Eyal Yasski – Weiss