Wellmania: Why This Wellness-Spoofing Show Is Incredibly Relatable For Many Of Us

Slouched on my work desk, aimlessly staring at my screen with zero intakes of water for a hot summer day, I chanced upon watching the new Netflix show, Wellmania. 'Forced to rethink her life and wellness after a major health crisis' - the synopsis intrigued me ( and felt like a personal attack). After all, what is wellness? Inspired by Brigid Delaney’s book of the same name, the show attempts to answer this question.

Wellmania follows Olivia Healy (Celeste Barber), a 40-something food writer living in New York, who is pretty much the life of every party. She is loud and self-absorbed (as told time and again told by her family), but she is good at her job. Her go-getter attitude lands her an opportunity to judge a cooking reality show. But before she could start working on it, she decides to make a trip home to Australia for the weekend. However, to her surprise, nothing goes as she had planned and she finds herself stranded in Australia after losing her green card, desperate to return to her job in the United States. After failing the necessary medical exam to apply for a new card and causing a scene at the US Embassy office, Liv embarks on a journey to “get well”. But she has to do it in four weeks.

Wellmania review: Incredibly Relatable

The show subtly delves into the slippery modern expectation that women go through to become weller-than-well. It is a combination of diet, exercise and other expensive quackery (cupping, green juice lifestyle, cleansing, fasts and whatnot), mainly lobbied by photogenic social media stars.

However, an extremely noteworthy notion is how Liv’s health (or apparent lack thereof) is never presented in terms of her weight; instead, her “live by paycheque-to-paycheque, have it all” lifestyle is constantly critiqued by her friends and family. 'You need to get well' is also a silent nudge for her to look after her ">mental health.

She is humourous, flawed and her constant thrill-seeking personality causes more troubles than solutions. She is part of a rat race like most of us, putting forth her career at the top instead of health just like us (or rather me). Realising that her dream job is at stake, she turns to the wellness industry, paying for an intense cleanse intended to “de-garbage her guts." She meets spiritual gurus, bares herself for a session with a therapist, attempts to join a gym, and aims for spin class - to sum it up - she tries everything to get her green card back, but not entirely to be better.

The show constantly encourages us to pause and reflect within. It encapsulates the struggle of living a fast-paced lifestyle and sheds light on how important it is to improve both physical and mental health. While Wellmania is about Liv’s pursuit of health, it is also an exploration of her relationships with her best friend Amy, her mum Loraine and brother Gaz. She can’t wait to get back to New York, away from her mother and brother, even though the latter’s wedding is around the corner. Her medical officer pushes her to get a psych exam that allows her to deal with her demons of the past. Liv, towards the end, pulls up to declare that she’s self-aware enough to call out her own behaviour. “I am a bit of a selfish prick," she reasons with her brother after ruining his wedding.

Wellmania has the potential to get silly, but it has well-meaning intentions. It has its lows, and unsketched characters but Barber is fantastically charismatic, delivering Liv's 'get well soon' actions with a lot of enthusiasm. It is worth binging and later reflecting on our own actions.

Views expressed by the author are their own.

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