By Kylee Day
LifeAtStart.com reporter
Andi Mack is a show based around three friends their infinite number of growing problems. Seems pretty normal, nothing too different about it, right? Just another kids show at the hands of Disney, awaiting it’s inevitable demise around the third or fourth season. Wrong.
Andi Mack has made history, not once, but twice so far since the show began.
The show is about Andi Mack, a 13 year-old girl, who has just discovered a whole new wave of problems in life. Boys, drama, and that her older sister is actually her mother? Yeah, it’s more of a soap opera than just a coming of age kids show.
But there’s a number of things that this show deals with, unlike any others we’ve ever seen. Andi Mack didn’t just break through the glass ceiling, it reaches the clouds. It deals with issues such as anxiety, teen pregnancy, learning disabilities, privilege, inequality, and even coming out.
Back in 2017, Andi Mack made history with having Disney’s first main character be gay. Cyrus Goodman, one of the main characters, came out to one of his closest friends, Buffy Driscoll, as gay by simply nodding his head as she asked him if he liked Jonah Beck, another character on the show. With such a small, and seemingly insignificant gesture, Disney history was made. Cyrus then continued to still go on a date with a girl, but later broke it off without any specific reason, leaving the viewers to believe Cyrus wasn’t bisexual, confused, or queerbait, but in fact, gay.
It was confirmed Friday, when the show made Disney history once more. ‘One In A Minyan’ followed the passing of Cyrus’ grandmother and the entire episode took place in Cyrus’ house, where Andi, Buffy, and Jonah supported Cyrus as he went through a stage of mourning, in Jewish tradition, known as “sitting shiva.” Throughout the episode, Cyrus explains to his friends the importance of the mourning process in Judaism and what different terms and things are. As he explains some of the Jewish cuisines to Jonah, who Cyrus had previously had a crush on, Cyrus surprised viewers as he said, “skip that, and I’m gay.” Making him the very first Disney character to say “I’m gay” on television.
This show has so many important story lines, some of them far too important for not only children to see, but their families as well. And while I could write probably 20 articles on why this show is so very significant, because one does not sum it up, I could really just tell you to watch the show yourselves. It can be cheesy, funny, incredibly sad, and even terribly cliche at times, but hey, at least it’s not as dramatic as an actual soap opera.