Ryan O’Connell’s critically acclaimed Netflix series ‘Special’ has been renewed for a second season

Words: Steve Brown

The critically acclaimed Netflix series Special has been renewed for a second season.

Based around Ryan O’Connell’s part-memoir, part-manifesto ‘I’m Special: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves’, the first season ran for eight episodes on the streaming giant and the comedy was produced by Jim Parson’s company, That’s Wonderful Productions.

Special is loosely based on his own upbringing and experiences as a gay man living with cerebral palsy and it follows a man with mild cerebral palsy who decides to rewrite his identity as a victim of an accident and goes after the life he wants.

O’Connell stars alongside Jessica Hecht, Punam Patel, Marla Mindelle, Augustus Prew and Patrick Fabien.

And now, the Hollywood Reporter has revealed the hit show will be back for a second season.

#Special has been renewed for Season 2! pic.twitter.com/d8fmzdzSDt

— See What’s Next (@seewhatsnext) December 16, 2019

The actor previously opened up about the lack of opportunity for disabled actors and promised he will always cast gay actors to play gay characters because they don’t have the same opportunities of straight actors.

He said: “I’m not saying actors can’t play something that they’re not, but the world is structured in a way where disabled people have no opportunities.

“On my show there are a lot of gay characters, and it was really important to me that I hire gay actors to play that role.

“Is that because I think straight people can’t play gay? No, but I know a lot of talented gay actors that don’t have the same opportunities as straight actors because they’re gay, and that’s just the world we live in.

“Until that can be rectified, you bet I’m going to give opportunities to people who don’t have them. 

“That’s what you have to do, you have to protect the powerless and give them opportunities, that’s the only way they can advance.”