Manic

About

Manic is a series centered around Aurora Carter, a gifted 16-year-old, Renaissance Teen, future senator and National Geography Bee Champion who prides herself on being able to recite every capital city on the continent of Africa. Aurora’s magnetic personality captivates her peers and intimidates her teachers. A Yale shoe-in, she plans to climb the success ladder as far as it will take her. There’s only one problem. She has manic-depressive episodes that leave her drained of all energy, unable to get out of her sweatpants, and listening to depressing Adele ballads on repeat. On the other hand, Aurora’s mania is the secret weapon that gives her an extra edge over her prep school peers. More importantly, mania is a critical aspect of who Aurora understands herself to be. In season one, Aurora’s drive and ambition are at odds with the goals of her new therapeutic boarding school where SAT prep takes a backseat to classes like Hip Hop 101 and Intro to Mindfulness. She is determined not to fall behind and escape this school of freaks. But as she builds relationships with the other girls, she comes to appreciate their eccentricities. Their intelligence and spunk reinforce her belief that the school is trying to break their spirits and she leads the girls in a resistance. But when all her plans implode, she reckons with her diagnosis. She realizes she needs the school, where her friends are her family on this journey to self-acceptance.