They're Just Teens

Growing up, I’ve always loved Disney Channel sitcoms. You get the laughter, the jokes, and the emotional moments between the characters that make you feel nostalgic yet dysphoric because you feel like you’re missing something inside.

But as the years go by, Disney Channel has changed their sitcoms, and now it’s not as entertaining as it used to be. Instead of that nostalgic feeling you get when you watch their shows, you get a feeling like you’re reluctant to overlook something you feel so cringed over. I’ve been looking for different sitcoms, but that doesn’t seem to nostalgic feeling Disney sitcoms gave off.

Up until Netflix decided to make a Disney Channel-like sitcom series called Alexa and Katie. I was at first a little skeptical because it sounded like your average cancer story. Yes, you heard right, this is a sitcom about a girl named Alexa (played by Paris Berelc) who tries to live as a normal teenage girl but struggles to do so when she’s got health issues such as cancer. Like other girls, Alexa has dreams and ambitions. But at times, Alexa would feel alone; that’s when her best friend Katie (played by Isabel May) comes along and sticks with her no matter what.

The show feels familiar from other tween teen sitcoms that we would get back in the old days. When I first started watching Alexa and Katie, I felt like I was sent back in time as a kid to watch something that got me binging the whole series in one day. After finishing it, I couldn't get enough of it. It didn't feel like the show was complete cause I was craving more.

Katie's Determination in the Friendship

One of my favorite scenes is the first episode when Katie finds out that Alexa has been hiding the fact that she’s been losing hair; which meant she could get exposed to her school about the fact that she has cancer and getting pity from the whole world is the last thing Alexa wants. So Katie does this thing that a lot of ordinary people who love someone would do—she shaved her head before Alexa could even start—following up with the quote:

"Hey!"

"As long as you’re my best friend, you are never going through anything alone,"

-Katie

This scene gave me so much emotion that it made me feel like this pandemic did not help me with my loneliness. I almost felt like I needed Katie in my life. The commitment, loyalty, and trust Katie and Alexa have in each other can be seen throughout the series. Like there can’t be Alexa without Katie.

Why Katie Ended Up Being My Favorite

It may sound like this all revolves around just Alexa trying to conquer cancer, but it isn’t. The show is trying to portray teens wanting to live their high school lives to the fullest, and I feel like it’s best illustrated when the show starts to slowly shift its view on not just Alexa’s struggles but also about Katie’s well.

From the start of the series, Katie is introduced as a friend who'd always worry about the people she loves; and less about herself. Always maintining laughter no matter the situation. Katie is a character that is highly relied on by her family and best friend. She’s never really gotten to take her time to enjoy herself and find what she wants to do in her life, up until she joins the school play on Romeo and Juliet for fun. She lands the leading role, and this is the start of Katie realizing her dreams of becoming an actress.

When you tend to feel like you’ve got a lot on your shoulders and you don’t know who to rely on, you start to shift away from not just your families but your best friends as well. When Katie realizes that she wants to become an actor, she secretly applied to another school to boost her acting career without Alexa knowing, thinking she wouldn't understand because they planned on going to the same university together. But Katie finds out that she’s accepted into the university that could help her achieve the dream she's always wanted. When Katie doesn’t know how to tell Alexa, we can start to see Katie stressing over the choices between her emotions or her best friend's emotions. The one scene that had me balling my eyes out is when Katie started having a panic attack. It isn’t the first time she gets a panic attack, but she starts to have a bad one where she tries coping mechanisms taught to her in therapy during work. But when the methods weren't working out for Katie, she starts to hyperventilate. That’s when one of her co-workers came and started to try and help her calm down.

Katie's First Panic Attack

Katie and Alexa attend another school to take a test, but Katie starts to overload about her future after Alexa mentions it. Alexa didn't intentionally say these things to hurt Katie. But Katie has this pressure on her like she's got to have a great future that she doesn't think she can make.

Katie's Second Panic Attack // Part One

Katie starts to have another panic attack after Aiden (her co-worker) mentions how great of an actor she is. Making her think about her future again and overthinking her career in acting and whether she should pursue it. But when you overload, you don't think about that. You suddenly get this feeling like you're not going to make it, and you suddenly start to panic and forget how to breathe correctly.

Katie's Second Panic Attack // Part Two

When Katie realizes her mother can't pick up the phone, she felt like she was utterly alone—till Aiden steps in and calms her by distracting her from all the bad her something good that the two of them would understand. Calmed the situation down, making Katie snap out of it.

The actor Isabel May performed this scene so well that I felt like I went back to a time where I overstressed and had a panic attack moment. And it showed that there are people out there who will care and it isn’t always going to be our best friends. We have other people around us who do care about our well-being, primarily our mental. Katie and Alexa is the friendship you see that will always take care of one another. Through the worst hardships and celebrate the best-overcome difficulties.

This show portrayed many things not to warn others or flaunt how hard it is to go through panic attacks and cancer. It shows that no matter what trials you may have, mental, emotional, and physical, you can get through it all if you open the door and try to find happiness within yourself and others around you. No matter how old you’re getting, we are all still growing, and the trials are never going to stop. Just keep ongoing. That’s why this show is one of my favorites, and I don’t’ regret it. I highly suggest it to those who want to watch a perfect sitcom that could get you a little teary regarding family and friendships.