Unlike the Good Doctor, Sam Gardner is not an autistic savant. He is not Rain Man He does have a special interest. Some autistics like trains. Sam likes penguins. Atypical tells the story of Sam Gardner and his relationship with his family. Sam’s narration provides an interesting education about penguins and Antarctica. This is Interesting stuff for a comedy/drama. The prologue was full of fun hilarity, and I learned things I did not know about penguins, but there was much thought put into the storyline and dialogue
Jenifer Jason Leigh plays Sam’s over protective mother, and Michael Rappaport plays Sam’s father who has trouble connecting with his son. Bridgette-Lundy Paine plays Sam’s protective sister. The connection between all four characters is not hard to see as other family dynamics come into play in Sam’s life. Sam’s life is also guided by his best friend Zahid, and his therapist played respectively by Nik Dodani and Amy Okuda
When the acclaimed Good Doctor uses visuals, Sam lets the viewer into his head with narration, and this is in part how we get to know Sam’s autism. I give Atypical a B