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The Healing Powers of Dude

Credits

Cast

Network

Reviewer

Kristin Smith

TV Series Review

Eleven-year-old Noah Ferris has social anxiety disorder. His family knows this. But the rest of the world? Well, they’re about to.

Noah was homeschooled and supported for years by his quirky artistic dad, his loving lawyer mom and younger, opinionated sister. But now it’s time for Noah to leave the nest and fly somewhere different: middle school.

For some, middle school is no big deal. A breeze. But for Noah, whose imagination comes across the screen in wild, fanciful detail, it’s like walking into a really loud box, squished against a bajillion people who are all turning into crazy zombies, waiting to pounce on you the moment you mess up.

Sounds a bit dramatic, but that’s just how Noah feels. And when he’s psychologically unable to make it to homeroom on his first day of school, his parents decide to get him an emotional support dog named Dude to get him to class.

Dude isn’t exactly the picture of perfection: his inner monologue is often sarcastic, he’s consistently distracted by food and he’s not always there when Noah needs him. But he is trying to help Noah make some friends, like the sassy Amara and outspoken Simon.

Dude’s not perfect, but neither is Noah. In fact, they’re both doing their best and taking it one step at a time.

JUST KEEP SWIMMING

Netflix’s The Healing Powers of Dude is the first kids’ show I’ve seen that aims at tackling the stigma behind social anxiety disorder. That was the intent of the show’s husband-and-wife creators, Sam Littenberg-Weisberg and Erica Spates, “who approached the show with some humor to communicate the tougher moments to children and families and devised a visual language to demonstrate to kids how Noah might be feeling in a way they could more easily relate to.”

That visual language includes moments of anxiety where Noah envisions his head growing larger, his feet sinking in quicksand and fellow students surrounding him like a pack of zombies.

It’s super creative, fun and relatively clean. Of all the shows I’ve watched recently, this one really does try to stick to its G-rating (so far) and teaches kids the value of loving people as they are, walking away from snap judgements and being comfortable in their own skin. Plus, it portrays Noah’s family as kind, loving and extremely supportive.

Sure, there have been some valid complaints directed at the show about the differences between an emotional support animal and a service animal. And there’s also potty humor and mean comments as well, but it’s all mixed into a sweet story that could easily welcome the whole family.

Episode Reviews

Jan. 13, 2020: “Second Step: Homeroom”

Noah Ferris begins his first day of middle school with one goal: make it into homeroom without having a complete breakdown. When that doesn’t happen, Noah’s parents, Karen and Marvin, get Noah an emotional support dog named Dude.

Two eighth graders bully a sixth grader and attempt to steal his backpack before Dude intervenes. These same kids make a few mean comments. A man accidentally hits his head off of a stop sign. Principal Meyers yells after he trips over Dude and spills coffee on himself.

Dogs and humans alike make jokes about dog’s licking and smelling their rears and other gross habits like eating feces. Dude urinates on two bullies. Noah vomits during a panic attack (we hear sounds but don’t see anything). Noah’s friend, Simon, makes an off-beat joke about a dead dog. A boy jokingly says that everyone hates him.

Noah’s dad misuses God’s name once.

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kristin-smith
Kristin Smith

Kristin Smith joined the Plugged In team in 2017. Formerly a Spanish and English teacher, Kristin loves reading literature and eating authentic Mexican tacos. She and her husband, Eddy, love raising their children Judah and Selah. Kristin also has a deep affection for coffee, music, her dog (Cali) and cat (Aslan).

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