Netflix’s R-Rated Matilda Is A Stephen King Series In Disguise

Published Sep 25, 2026, 10:00 PM EDT

Dhruv is a Lead Writer in Screen Rant's New TV division. He has been consistently contributing to the website for over two years and has written thousands of articles covering streaming trends, movie/TV analysis, and pop culture breakdowns.
Before Screen Rant, he was a Senior Writer for The Cinemaholic, covering everything from anime to television, from reality TV to movies.
After high school, he was on his way to become a Civil Engineer. However, he soon realized that writing was his true calling. As a result, he took a leap and never looked back.

A bleak coming-of-age show on Netflix feels like an R-rated take on Matilda. However, a closer look at it reveals how it easily qualifies as a loose and modernized Stephen King adaptation. On the small-screen, Stephen King adaptations have usually struggled. Movies based on his works have been far more reliable in the past, but this trend finally seems to be changing.

In 2026, both The Institute and It: Welcome to Derry proved to be massive hits, paving the way for their second seasons. Even this year, Mike Flanagan's Carrie and The Institute season 2 are expected to further raise the bar for Stephen King TV shows. Interestingly, though, long before The Institute, It: Welcome to Derry, and Carrie, a compelling Stephen King-esque show landed on Netflix.

The show in question, I Am Not Okay With This, featured a protagonist who came off as a combination of both Matilda and Carrie. Despite adopting some familiar tropes, the series earned positive reviews from viewers and critics and still boasts a Rotten Tomatoes score of 86%. A closer look at its source material's inspirations reveals how its parallels with Matilda and Stephen King's Carrie are not coincidental.

Netflix’s I Am Not Okay With This Draws From Stephen King’s Carrie & Roald Dahl's Matilda

Netflix's I Am Not Okay With This is based on Charles Forsman’s 2017 graphic novel of the same name. However, as the show's co-creator, Christy Hall, revealed (via Variety), they were well aware that the show's main character, Sydney, was similar to a whole sandbox of other strong female leads.

Owing to this, instead of trying to make Sydney too distinct, they did not shy away from recreating familiar visuals from their inspirations.

This explains why, like Matilda and Carrie, Netflix's I Am Not Okay With This also uses telekinesis as an effective metaphor for the growing pains of going through puberty and the impact of trauma. Especially in its ending moments, I Am Not Okay With This fully embraces its Carrie parallels by portraying a sequence where its lead delivers an explosive display of rage after suppressing her anger for a long time.

Unlike Matilda, I Am Not Okay With This dabbles with many adult themes and captures how, for a teenager, telekinesis is more of a curse than a blessing. However, instead of completely heading into the horror domain like Carrie, the Netflix show focuses more on its coming-of-age aspects and LGBTQ+ themes. This gives it a distinct identity in the genre and even makes it reminiscent of Netflix shows like The End of the F***ing World.

It Would Be Interesting To See How Mike Flanagan's Carrie Would Be Different

Stephen King's Carrie has already been adapted multiple times, and even I Am Not Okay With This feels like another iteration of the same story. Since viewers have already seen many different versions of the same story on the screen, there seems to be little room for another novel interpretation of the Stephen King book.

However, Mike Flanagan has a history of picking up classic horror literature and turning familiar stories into something more profound, modern, and terrifying. He is expected to pull off something similar with Stephen King's Carrie. The show already boasts a Rotten Tomatoes score of 86% before its release on Prime Video, with many critics praising its relevance to the times.

Netflix's I Am Not Okay With This also earned immense acclaim after release and was even set to return for another season before Netflix suddenly pulled the plug. While it is unfortunate the show could not return, the show's season 1 still stands as a well-rounded and contemporary take on Carrie, making it one of Netflix's most Stephen King-esque shows.

• I Am Not Okay With This is a Netflix series centering on the complicated life of Sydney Novak, played by IT star Sophia Lillis. Sydney is a teenager who is juggling life as a high schooler, family issues, and her sexuality. To top things off, she's also starting to develop mysterious superpowers.

  Showrunner

  Shawn Levy

  Directors

  Shawn Levy

  Seasons

  1

• 

  Carrie

  Release Date

  2026 - 2026-00-00

  Network

  Prime Video

  • 

    Summer H. Howell

    Carrie White

  • 

    Matthew Lillard

    Principal Grayle

  • 

    Miss Desjardin

  • 

    Samantha Sloyan

    Margaret White

  Carrie White struggles through school life after her father's passing in this new adaptation of Stephen King's classic novel. The challenges she faces include bullying, a domineering mother, and the the development of her telekinetic abilities.