12 Ways ‘I Am Not Okay With This’ Is Like ‘Stranger Things’ & ‘The End of the F***ing World’ (PHOTOS)
Parents Lost to Suicide
In The End of the F***ing World, co-lead character James (Alex Lawther) grapples with the suicide of his mother, and similarly Sydney (Sophia Lillis) is dealing with the loss of her father in this series. Unlike James, who witnessed his mother drive into a lake, Sydney’s father was found in their family basement with no note.
Decked Out Wood-Paneled Basements
Everyone who knows Stranger Things well can think back to the beginning when the brood of kids were playing D&D in Mike’s (Finn Wolfhard) basement, and in this show, it’s Stanley’s (Wyatt Oleff) basement that gives off major Wheeler house vibes.
Car Rides
When Sydney and Stanley are riding around town, we can’t help but be reminded of James and Alyssa’s (Jessica Barden) rides on English back roads in The End of the F***ing World.
Convenience Store Chaos
When Sydney is asked to go get groceries, she has an episode with her powers when there isn’t enough money to pay for the order. While she may not have picked up Eggos, it’s easy to see the similarities in her trip to Eleven’s (Millie Bobby Brown) adventure to the Hawkins grocery mart in Season 1 of Stranger Things when she used her powers to escape with her favorite frozen treat.
School Dances
It may not be the Hawkins Middle School Snow Ball from Season 2 of Stranger Things, but the homecoming dance in I Am Not Okay With This looked eerily similar decoration wise.
First-Person Narration
Similar to The End of the F***ing World‘s lead characters, Sydney also has an inner monologue which serves as a first-person narration for the series — although Sydney’s thoughts are cataloged for diary entries, which sets this aspect apart in its own way for the series.
Tight Bonds
Whether they’re romantic or platonic, Sydney’s bonds with Dina (Sofia Bryant) and Stanley mirror the strong connections between characters in Stranger Things and The End of the F***ing World.
Stalking Predators
There’s a mysterious entity that follows Sydney around in the series which isn’t dissimilar to Stranger Things‘ Demogorgon and Mind Flayer which stalk Eleven and Will (Noah Schnapp). In The End of the F***ing World James and Alyssa are stalked by Bonnie (Naomi Ackie), a woman who was in love with the predatory writer and scholar they killed in Season 1.
Strained Mother-Daughter Relationships
Just like Alyssa and her mother from The End of the F***ing World, Sydney and her mother Maggie (Kathleen Rose Perkins) don’t get along so easily.
Super Outbursts
In Stranger Things, Eleven’s been known to use her telekinetic powers during heightened emotional moments, and such is the case for Sydney, who struggles throughout the series to keep things under control.
Quirky Teens
Friends Sydney and Stanley are a perfect example of quirky oddball teens living in messed-up situations within this series. Their uniqueness is reminiscent of outcasts James and Alyssa in The End of the F***ing World, which would make sense since all of the characters were created by the same person — Charles Forsman.
Small Town America
Set in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, I Am Not Okay With This mirrors the small town setting established in Stranger Things — although in this case, the town is based on a real location whereas Hawkins, Indiana is fictional.
Netflix just launched the 7-episode oddball dramedy I Am Not Okay With This, and it bears striking similarities to two other shows on the streaming platform.
There’s a reason for these similarities though, as the series hails from The End of the F***ing World‘s Jonathan Entwistle and the producers of Stranger Things. Based on the graphic novel of the same name, I Am Not Okay With This originates from the same writer of The End of the F***ing World‘s graphic novel, Charles Forman.
And while this series presents a new story with fresh characters, there’s plenty of overlap taking place. Following Sydney Novak (Sophia Lillis), I Am Not Okay With This takes viewers along as she faces the challenges of growing up while also discovering that she has superpowers that are beginning to manifest within.
In the gallery above, we explore the ideas and aspects from The End of the F***ing World and Stranger Things that appear in I Am Not Okay With This.
I Am Not Okay With This, Season 1, Streaming now, Netflix
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