NBC's Ordinary Joe premiered on September 20, 2021 and has already grabbed the attention of at least seven million viewers. The show's unique storyline is what caught so many people's attention. It follows the life of Joe Kimbrough, but unlike other shows, it's not just about one life story—it explores three different lives that Joe could have had. Each one depends on what choice he makes after he graduates college and enters the adult world.
But that's not the only reason why the drama show is unique. It's one of the few shows that has a disabled main character who is actually played by a disabled actor. There are barely any disabled characters on TV and when there are any, they're usually played by able-bodied actors who portray them inaccurately. Ordinary Joe is finally starting to change that. Here are all of the ways the new show is changing the way disability is represented on TV.
6 It’s One Of The Few TV Shows That Has A Disabled Actor
Hollywood has a habit of casting able-bodied actors for disabled character roles. For years, networks and production companies have turned away disabled actors and not given them the chance to show the world how talented they are. But NBC is starting to change that. They just cast a disabled actor for their new show, Ordinary Joe. John Gluck plays Joe’s son, Christopher (and Lucas, which is his name in another one of Joe’s worlds), who has a form of muscular dystrophy.
In an interview with NBC4 Washington, John said, “There’s not a lot of representation for muscular dystrophy on television in general. And even when there is, most of the time it’s not even played by an actor that actually has it. So when I saw the casting call for this, I was like ‘oh my goodness this is exactly me’… So yeah, when I saw it I was like, 'Chris is just like me,' and I thought it would be really cool to just go for it and I never thought it would lead me here.”
5 It Features Real Equipment That Disabled People Use (And Doesn’t Make A Big Deal About It)
There’s only been a few episodes so far, but in some of them you can see medical equipment in Christopher’s room. His wheelchair is already a breakthrough because often TV shows only have characters in manual wheelchairs. John Gluck actually gets to use his own customized electric wheelchair to play Christopher. Since disabled characters are usually portrayed by able-bodied actors, that’s not usually what you see on TV. While there are many disabled people who use manual wheelchairs, this shows viewers that there are more types of wheelchairs out there.
Besides his wheelchair, you can see a hoyer lift and what looks like a hospital bed in his room. Joe was even sitting in the hoyer lift in one of the episodes so he could show his mom how to use it when transferring Christopher. Many disabled people, especially those with muscular dystrophy, use equipment like this every day. The best part is that the show doesn’t make a big deal out of Christopher using them and shows the equipment as just a part of everyday life.
4 Christopher’s Disability Isn’t Portrayed Negatively Like In Other TV Shows And Films
Along with casting able-bodied actors to play disabled characters, Hollywood also has a habit of portraying disability negatively in TV shows and films. If the disabled character is one of the main characters (which doesn’t happen often either), the story is usually centered around their disability and portrays it as something they have to overcome or their life isn’t worth living if they can’t. This happens in almost every movie or TV show that has a main character who’s disabled. Those movies and TV shows promote a really harmful stereotype. They make it seem like disabled people can’t have fulfilling and happy lives. If Hollywood keeps portraying this stereotype, more and more people will continue to be hurt by it. Not only does it make disabled people feel like they can’t be happy, it makes others see them differently too, which can make them feel even worse.
Ordinary Joe doesn’t do that though. Joe and Christopher’s mom, Jenny, talk about his disability sometimes, but it’s not in a negative way. There was one time when Jenny said she wishes she had known her son had a neuromuscular disease when he was born so she could be more prepared for the challenges it brings, but that’s the only negative line in the script. The rest of the show doesn’t make a big deal out of it and treats Christopher like any other teenager, which is how it should be.
3 One Of The Show’s Producers And Writers Has A Son With Muscular Dystrophy
Garrett Lerner, who is one of the show’s main writers and producers, based some of the show on his real life. The show’s creator, Matt Reeves, wanted it to be something viewers could relate to. He told Garrett to put himself into it when writing the script, so he took inspiration from his real family, including his son who has a form of muscular dystrophy. According to Collider, “We put a lot of ourselves into it, per Matt Reeves' encouragement… Joe's son, we gave this disease called spinal muscular atrophy, which is the same thing that my son has. So, you know, the phrase is ‘bleed on the page’—to just open ourselves up and make it really honest and true to what our lives are. And hopefully, the best product comes out of that.”
Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is a form of muscular dystrophy. Even though John Gluck doesn’t have SMA (he has collagen VI muscular dystrophy), he still gets to play a character with muscular dystrophy and one he can relate to. Since Ordinary Joe is based on Garrett Lerner’s experience having a son with muscular dystrophy, viewers can see what it’s really like to live with a disability and see that having a disability is not something to be ashamed of.
2 A Famous Writer And YouTuber With Muscular Dystrophy Consulted On The Show
Along with hiring a disabled actor, NBC also hired a disabled writer to consult on the show. We can see they’re definitely trying to make their shows more diverse and it’s paying off. They hired Shane Burcaw, a famous writer and YouTuber, as a technical consultant since he has SMA and can help make Christopher’s character more authentic. He has a YouTube channel called Squirmy and Grubs with his wife, Hannah, which has gained more than 800,000 subscribers the past three years. Shane tweeted, “I’m a disabled writer. This past summer, I got my first TV gig, consulting for the writers room of #OrdinaryJoe. It premieres tonight at 10pm ET on @NBC, and besides being a fantastic show, it includes amazingly authentic disability representation. Let’s get this baby trending!!!”
Garrett Lerner’s experience with a disabled child already helps give the show authenticity, but it is a different experience being disabled than being a parent of a disabled child. Shane’s point of view can make Christopher’s character even more realistic. It’s rare when disabled writers get to be a part of huge TV shows like this, so this is a breakthrough for the disability community.
1 Christopher Is One Of The Few Main Disabled Characters In A TV Show
Christopher might not be the lead protagonist in the show, but he’s still one of the main characters. So far, he’s been in every episode and the other characters mention him a lot since he’s the protagonist’s son. This is a big deal since most disabled characters are not main characters and usually barely have any speaking parts. According to Respect Ability, “A new report by GLAAD shows a slight uptick in the percentage of series regular characters with a disability on broadcast scripted series to 3.5 percent for the 2020-2021 season, up from 3.1 percent. This represents a 12.9 percent increase.”
Although the percentage increased a little bit this past year, the GLAAD report also says “this number continues to severely underrepresent the actual U.S. population living with disabilities.” More than twenty percent of the population is disabled, so 3.1 percent is really low and not an accurate representation of the disability community at all. This inaccurate representation gives viewers the wrong idea about the world and almost erases an entire part of the population. But shows like Ordinary Joe are beginning to change that and hopefully we’ll see more shows like it in the future.
