E4
Fans of My Mad Fat Diary are patiently waiting for the second season of E4’s teenaged drama to premiere sometime in February. Little by little, E4 is releasing promotional goodies for the show: first there were short scenes in E4’s ad about the new year, then we got a slew of promo photos featuring the whole cast as well as individual shots, and finally (finally!) My Mad Fat Diary revealed the official trailer for season two. But why do fans love this series so much? Isn’t it just another teen drama?
Absolutely not.
Aside from the mega cool music featured on the show — which is a playlist that any ‘90s lover could approve — My Mad Fat Diary is one of the most realistic portrayals on television of what it’s like to be a teenager. Sure, many teens or twenty-somethings can’t relate to exactly what Rae went through in the first season (fighting an eating disorder and dealing with suicidal thoughts), but there are other aspects of her life that everyone has had to deal with. For example: finding a group of friends that you fit in with.
Then of course, there are Rae’s friends: Tix, Danny, Chloe, Chop, Archie, Finn, and Izzy. As much as fans want to be friends with Rae (and they do because Rae is mega, mega cool), they also want to hang out with all of her friends. If you’re still in high school, they’re type of people you wish you hung out with (or do hang out with already), and if you’ve graduated high school, they’re the gang you wish you had hung out with.
However it’s Rae’s unique experiences that make the audience fall in love with her. Maybe they didn’t go through what she dealt with, but the way the show is written, the audience feels like they know Rae (probably because Rae Earl is based on a real human person whose diary was published and used as the source material for this show.) Besides, how many other teen dramas deal with mental illness in as realistic and unflinchingly honest way as My Mad Fat Diary?
