TROY BILLINGS IS A 298-POUND LONER STRUGGLING TO SURVIVE THE BLITZKRIEG OF HIGH SCHOOL.
So far, he’s losing the battle. When popular girl Lily takes her life, Troy decides to follow in her footsteps. Luckily, fate intervenes in the form of Jo Davenport, a rebellious rock musician with a troubled family life and secrets of her own. Jo literally crashes into Troy’s life, first by shoving him clear of an oncoming train, then by pushing him to join the punk band she’s forming. A precarious friendship is born that soon has Troy grabbing the reins of life and steering towards an exciting – if uncertain – future as the drummer of “The Rebels”.
Twenty percent of American high school students are obese. There are kids like Troy in every school in America, yet we rarely see them on TV. When we do, it’s often as the comic relief. It’s time for a show that looks at obesity through a lens focused on a complex, multi-dimensional character.
In a world where social media puts teens’ lives under a microscope, body image has a profound impact on well-being. Suicide is now the second leading cause of adolescent death. Fully 8% of 14-to-25-year-olds report having suicidal thoughts. For obese kids, that number doubles to 16%.
Whether it’s Troy’s body shame, Maya balancing her parents’ expectations, Dez flailing for purpose without football, or Jo’s search for meaningful connection, all these struggles are real and relatable. But this is not a story about changing so people will like you; it’s about growing so you will learn to like yourself.
