Queer Dark Comedy “Unconventional” Season One Review – A Whole Lot of Drama and Love

From creator Kit Williamson, Unconventional season one was brimming with drama between the ensemble as they tried to navigate a major change in all their lives.

I was provided with free screeners of Unconventional season one for review. The opinions I have shared are my own.

SPOILER WARNING! This review contains certain spoilers. Proceed with caution.

After seeing the pace at which the debut episode unfolded, I thought I was going to keep up with Unconventional. However, I was wrong. This particular queer-themed dark comedy didn’t take a break throughout the nine-episode run as the main cast was forced to face numerous obstacles that tested their relationships and their own identities.

The premise involves Noah (Williamson) and Dan (James Bland) getting ready to have a baby with Eliza (Briana Venskus), who is Margot’s (Aubrey Shea) partner. Noah and Margot are siblings and both are dealing with certain issues, including alcoholism, depression, anxiety, and more.

It doesn’t take long for Noah and Dan to have an argument about what it means to be a family and if they even want a kid to begin with. Eliza demands Noah sign away his parental rights. On top of that, Noah’s been trying to complete his PhD for nine years now. The husbands also have to deal with inviting Adam (Constantine Rousouli) into their relationship which leads to Adam basically moving in with the two.

Margot feels ignored due to Eliza’s pregnancy. Margot also feels her spouse isn’t supporting her art the way she would like her to. As an artist myself, the scene where Eliza put Margot’s latest project online without Margot’s permission was a big no for me. The death of Margot’s abusive father doesn’t make things any easier.

The show’s well-acted, with everyone bringing emotional layers that make you want to root for them even if they’re being unreasonable during certain situations. A thing I enjoyed about the writing was how Williamson made sure to explain each character’s behavior. For example, Eliza wasn’t demanding Noah sign away his parental rights just to be rude or self-centered. No, we got a reveal about the emotional trauma Eliza’s still dealing with after being left by her ex and the little girl they were raising together.

Dan’s insistence to fit the mold of a “conventional” family even though he was married to a man touched on how queer couples are expected to have “lifestyles” as close to the traditional picture of a “straight” marriage if they want to comfortably move in society, especially when wanting to adopt. Not only that, but also Dan felt he was under a magnifying glass due to being a Black man. It’s very “you-can’t-be-Black-AND-too-gay” vibes, that unfortunately still impact many PoC in the queer community. Due to his childhood, Dan wanted everything to be perfect. And even though he loved Noah, his spouse was far from perfect.

I liked the scene where Dan stood up to his parents. I got where his mother was coming from, wanting to “help” make Dan’s domestic life as best as it could be. But Dan had to put his foot down (in a respectable manner, of course) when wanting to build a life with Noah on their terms as husbands.

Coming to Noah and Margot’s childhood, their father was abusive. He didn’t want anything to do with his queer children and had been violent against his wife. In my opinion, the storyline dealing with his death was realistic. Noah and Margot didn’t get the closure they wanted. Not only that, but also they came across as real people trying to make sense of their complicated feelings, especially Margot who didn’t want to end up like her father (due to his struggles with addiction and certain cognitive issues).

Having their mother Dana (Carolyn Guillory) come and live with them helped the series change for the better. The 30-something-year-old messy adults needed a somewhat level-headed mediator during such an intense time. The scene where Dana tried to calm down an understandably emotional Eliza was so good!

Kudos to Unconventional for not shying away from depicting the toll wanting to continue with such relationships can take. Eliza and Dan loved Margot and Noah. But things can turn ugly very quickly when emotions are running high. You can still love someone and want the best for them without being in their lives as romantic partners. No one will blame you for wanting space in such a manner. But I get why Eliza and Dan stayed. 

As someone who works in Healthcare (specifically with people dealing with certain cognitive issues), I was interested in seeing how Unconventional would handle said cognitive conditions packaged as a queer dark comedy. I would say it’s not perfect, but it’s still handled well. Frankly, I could have done without a scene between Margot and her therapist. I get that it was supposed to show Margot’s self-destructive tendencies, but I would have liked to see the therapist face some kind of consequence. It felt like it wasn’t the first time he had experienced such a situation. Perhaps it was supposed to touch upon how certain therapists can exploit emotionally vulnerable patients in such a manner. But yeah, it made me feel icky.

Another gripe would be Adam. He came across as a plot device rather than his own character. The series kind of had him do and say whatever was required to progress Noah and Dan’s relationship. By the end, he transformed into operating as a therapist to help the husbands reconcile. I would have liked to see more of Adam as his own person, especially after he shared a traumatic event when he was younger and how his past had molded him into who he currently is.

All in all, Unconventional is a fast-paced and highly emotionally charged queer dark comedy from Williamson. It’s the type of show that will impact everyone differently depending on what they have faced or are presently going through. I do think some of my opinions toward the characters have more to do with my subjective notions (or biases) instead of how the show wants to present them as. But then again, I consider that a strength of the series’ writing because viewers will get to see the characters as “real” (at some level) in their own way.   

The complete nine episodes (approximately half an hour each) from Unconventional season one are available to stream right now on Revry. They are free. So, go ahead and support such queer storytelling. An uncensored version can also be streamed if you have a Revry subscription.

What did you think of Unconventional season one? 

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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