Watch The First 15 Minutes Of ‘Dietland,’ Marti Noxon’s Feminist Revenge Fantasy Series
Dietland, which follows an insecure and overweight ghostwriter for a New York fashion magazine who joins a vigilante feminist cabal, is sure to court more than a little controversy. But that’s what showrunnerMarti Noxonis good at.
The co-creator of the sharply feministUnRealand the writer behind the polarizing sixth season ofBuffy the Vampire Slayer, Noxon has apparently done it again with the upcoming revenge fantasy perfectly timed to the #MeToo movement. In the newDietlandpreview of the first 15 minutes of the AMC series, she reveals that she hasn’t lost her razor-sharp edge.
Dietland Preview
Dietlandjoins the ever-crowded field ofpoorly named showsthat don’t do justice to the excellent character work and whip-smart writing hiding underneath. But I get the feeling thatDietlandwould like to keep it that way. Based on the 2015 novel bySarai Walker, it turns out thatDietlandis a feminist vigilante series masquerading as as a fluffy fashion drama.
Walker billed her novel as the “female version” ofFight Club, featuring a disgruntled and mild-mannered protagonist who finds herself roped into a vengeful feminist movement that has taken to enacting vigilante justice against sexual assaulters and harassers. Yes, this series involves straight-up murder.
The first 15 minutes of the series is embedded wholly in the perspective of Plum Kettle, an overweight writer who spends her days ghostwriting advice to fashion magazine readers and counting down the days until her weight loss surgery. But something more sinister is afoot, as she notices a strange woman following her, and increasing reports of strange deaths around the country.
After Marti Noxon leftUnReal, the once-promising Lifetime drama began to flounder and lose its sharp, feminist bite. But it seems like Noxon’s unapologetic, tongue-in-cheek writing is back in full force withDietland. The series so far feels like it could be the adult equivalent of MTV’s gone-too-soon vigilante seriesSweet/Vicious. And while it’s too early to tell whetherDietlandcan fill the hole thatSweet/Viciousleft — or even the hole that thegloriously messyUnRealwill soon leave— this series looks like a promising summer antidote to sugary-sweet shows. I’m already craving more.
Here is the official synopsis forDietland:
A ghostwriter for the editor of a New York fashion magazine struggles with self-image and sets out on a wildly complicated road to self-acceptance, as men accused of sexual abuse and assault disappear and meet untimely, violent deaths.
