BEFORE WE BEGIN: SPOILER ALERT. Seriously. If you haven’t watched the last few episodes of the season, just click the [X] on this story right now. Like, right now. I don’t wanna be responsible for spoiling this for you, y’know? It’s *really* good, and I want you to experience it in it’s fullest form of goodness. I repeat, SPOILERS ARE AHEAD.
I truly believe that ‘Please Like Me’ is one of the greatest television shows to ever come out of this country.
I t is beautiful, funny, warm, sad, and it realistically shows a whole bunch of issues that Aussies (particularly the Australian youth) not only face head-on, but also internalised issues that we severely struggle to comprehend or acknowledge.
The show poignantly tackles huge topics, like mental health, suicide, relationships, family, sexual health, abortion, and body stigmatisation and the resulting issues – they shine big, bright, booming floodlights on important issues that need to be acknowledged and openly spoken about.
Anyone who watches will be able to relate in some way – I saw parts of myself and loved ones in every single character.
It’s a truly fantastic show, and that’s why my heart is broken to hear that this season may just be the last.
Last month, Josh Thomas told the Herald Sun:
“I have to think about doing something else because I might not have another season.”
Now, ‘Please Like Me‘ producer Todd Abbott told SMH,
“We weren’t even sure we were going to make a fourth season. And so when we did start, we basically decided that, in case it does turn out to be the last one, it really should feel like it has a satisfying conclusion.But we didn’t want to burn everything down so that we couldn’t go back and decide to make a season five. To be perfectly honest, we still haven’t decided whether we’ll do anymore.”
He explains,
“Ultimately, it’s a creative decision. It’s whether Josh feels like he has any more of that story to tell. That’s where we were in terms of season four, too.
This season we came up with something that seemed like it was an important part of a story that we started to tell three seasons beforehand. But the decision of whether we end up doing another one comes down to whether Josh has anything left to say with these characters.If there’s a story left to tell, then it’s worth doing.”
That story was incredibly important: by now, you’ll know that Josh‘s mother Rose (played by the absolutely incredible Debra Lawrence), who has Bipolar Disorder, dies by suicide. While this is devastating for obvious reasons, it hits home even harder because we’ve watched Rose attempt multiple times throughout the series.
I will be honest: I heartily sobbed for an hour straight after watching that episode. It was one of the rawest things I’ve ever watched.
So, if this was the show’s last season, I just want to say thank you to everyone who played a part in it. It helped me, and so many other young people in Australia (and around the world) feel comfortable in themselves. It’s helped so many people confront issues that they’d buried within themselves. It’s helped so many of people acknowledge their battles with mental illness.
Thank you. ‘Please Like Me’ is, was, and will always be phenomenal.
Photo: Please Like Me.
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