Punam Patel

Created by and starring Ryan O’Connell, Special tells the story of a gay man with cerebral palsy stepping out from the protection of his helicopter mom to create a world of his own, which means moving out, making new friends and finding romance. While not directly based on his memoir, I’m Special: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves, the former writer for the Will & Grace revival and author’s real-life experiences as a disabled man serve as a jumping off point for this witty and heartfelt Netflix series.

Some people have improv in their blood, and Punam Patel is one of those people. The actress shows off these skills most recently in season 2 of Special, a Netflix series about a gay, disabled man named Ryan on his journey to find himself while handling his interpersonal relationships.

Hannah Einbinder, Maya Erskine, Charlotte Nicdao and Punam Patel talk about entertaining viewers — and themselves — during a difficult time. The last 16 months have found people everywhere holed up in their homes and turning to television for the entertainment that can get them through times of isolation and turmoil. And those months have seen the emergence of a bumper crop of fresh voices, some of whom were doing great work before the pandemic and some who seemed to break out as the world shut down.