'Insatiable' Creator Also Wants You To Watch The Show Before Writing It Off

Debby Ryan‘s new Netflix series Insatiable is getting a lot of backlash after the trailer debut as the show seems to be all about glorifying fat shaming and if you’re thin, then you must be happy.

However, as Debby explained last week, that’s not what the show is about.

Now, writer/producer Lauren Gussis talked with Vanity Fair about the same issue.

Since the trailer debuted, over 200,000 people have signed an online petition for the streaming service to not air it.

“The trailer is not representative of the show as a whole, but it is a representation of where the story starts,” she says. “The story is not ‘somebody gets thin, becomes happy, and gets everything she wants.’ It’s actually quite the opposite, but the story has to start somewhere.”

In fact, Lauren says that Patty, played by Debby, is just as unhappy as she was before—dealing with a single, alcoholic mother; crippling bouts of insecurity; and a bottomless pit of anger.

“Patty’s actually more miserable because now she doesn’t have any protection,” Lauren adds. “She has no tools. People assume things about her because she looks a certain way, but she doesn’t know who she is; she never really did.”

“She focused all her attention on what things would be like ‘if only.’ Then she gets the ‘if only,’ and it doesn’t fix her. Now she’s even more mad and devastated, so she’s behaving very badly.”

And like Debby, Lauren wants you to give the show just a little chance.

“I want this to be a starting point for a conversation. I had a lot of mentors who encouraged me to tell my stories. I encourage other people to tell their story.”

Insatiable premieres Friday, August 10th on Netflix.