The streaming wars continue to rage, including the best Peacock shows to watch. Those with a Peacock subscription were recently treated to full season of All Her Fault, which stars Emmy-winner Sarah Snook. The cast also includes actor/screenwriter Daniel Monks, who spoke to CinemaBlend about the crafting of his character Brian, and the importance of disability representation in the media.
While folks figure out how to stream All Her Fault, folks are binge watching the book to screen adaptation. As you can see in the video above, I had the chance to speak with the cast ahead of its release, where I asked Monks about the way his character's disability was portrayed. He told me how this role was changed seemingly with him in mind, saying:
It was, it was really exciting for me when this came along. As soon as I was cast Megan Gallagher, the writer/showrunner, we had like an amazing long Zoom. My character in the book doesn't have a disability. His storyline isn't about disability, but she's a parent of a disabled child and this is something that she, like myself, is very passionate about, About more interesting, but also progressive representation for disability on screens.
How interesting is that? I haven't read the All Her Fault novel, so I had no idea that Brian wasn't disabled in the source material. In the series this is a major part of the character, and we follow as details about his accident trickle out throughout the series. It's a moving storyline, and one that came together as a result of Monks and Gallagher's passion for the subject.
I love watching Monks' character Brian gain more power and autonomy throughout All Her Fault, and thought that the way his disability was portrayed was moving. And for the actor himself, it was important that this story was told organically, and by a disabled actor. As he further explained to me:
And so it felt really exciting to me because it felt like almost like an antidote to a lot of the narrative we've seen of disability on screens before, which is often like Oscar bait, able-bodied actors pretending to be disabled, telling stories from a very abled lens about them overcoming their disability. Which for myself and for all the disabled people I know is not real or relevant to our actual lived experience and actually can be quite isolating and harmful.
Points were made, and these comments further show one way that that representation has changed in recent years. Rather than Brian "beating" his disability in All Her Fault, he's instead advocating for the type of care he needs to be independent. And Daniel Monks' moving performance was likely informed by experiences he's had as a disabled person in the real world.
Throughout All Her Fault's season, Brian is trying to advocate for himself, while his brother Peter (Jake Lacy) hovers and tries to take care of him. That includes constantly challenging him to walk, despite the character being far more comfortable using his electric wheelchair. It's a nuanced look at ableism, and how even well-meaning people can sometimes ignore the wishes of disabled people.
In our conversation Daniel Monks spoke about how this portrayal on the show might help folks feel seen and understood. In his words:
And so to tell a story that like challenges the other characters in the show and also potentially could challenge audiences to rethink how they see disabled people and disability was felt so meaningful. And it's the kind of thing that I wish I would've seen growing up as a disabled person, and I think it would've shifted my self-perception. So yeah, it was really exciting.
This is why conversations about representation in the media has been such an important one in recent years. On top of people seeing themselves on screen, authentic portrayals of underrepresented groups can also open the minds of audiences. And that's exactly what Monks is doing in the new Peacock series.
All Her Fault is streaming in its entirety on Peacock as part of 2025 TV schedule. It has a satisfying conclusion, but some fans are already hoping that a second season will arrive on the streamer.
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