TV Show review
September 18, 2020 · TV-MA · Canceled
Woke Score
Lower is better
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Ratched.
Woke representation / casting
Prominent explicit lesbian romance for the lead and supporting gay characters in a Ryan Murphy production with visible diverse casting.
Woke political dialogue
Occasional period-appropriate discussions of sexuality and repression, but no modern activist lectures or heavy-handed contemporary messaging.
Identity-driven story themes
Central focus on how 1940s homophobia, sexism, and racism contribute to trauma and institutional harm, paired with a reclaimed queer perspective on the protagonist.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Detailed portrayal of 1940s psychiatric institutions as abusive and dehumanizing, highlighting era-specific prejudices through a contemporary production style.
Review
Ratched is a 2020 Netflix psychological thriller series created by Evan Romansky and developed by Ryan Murphy. It serves as a prequel origin story for Nurse Mildred Ratched, following her arrival in 1947 at a California psychiatric hospital where she hides her own darkness while navigating experimental treatments and a personal mission involving her brother. The show features an explicit lesbian romance for the lead character and examines how 1940s prejudices around sexuality, gender, and race interact with institutional power in the mental health system.
Woke character or canon changes
Addition of an explicit lesbian romantic arc and queer identity to Nurse Ratched, a change not present in the original novel or 1975 film.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Minimal right-leaning criticism; most focused on storytelling flaws rather than ideological content, with only scattered notes on modern sensibilities.
Creator track record context
Dominated by Ryan Murphy’s long pattern of queer and diverse storytelling alongside Ian Brennan’s socially conscious work, tempered by co-creator Evan Romansky’s neutral profile.
Production
