Thread by @gauravsabnis

So many of these small town murders shows from Broadchurch to Trapped to #MareOfEasttown and many in between depend on very stupid secretive behavior by friends and teenaged kids of cops, which is a bit unrealistic no? Your friend is dead but you hide info from cop mom? Nah.

There's a horrific murder, often of a young woman, known to everyone. But teens are like, mommy issues or daddy issues more important than catching a killer on the loose. Who inevitably comes after said stupid teenager. So predictable but also unrealistic.

There is no way so many actual teenagers, especially cop kids, will sit on info. TV drama writers today need to move beyond the stupid angsty teen trope to stretch a show to ten episodes.

And Stranger Things is a whole other level of lazy writing in this.

First season, they all together survived something horrific and paranormal, but still, second season and onwards, zero information sharing till the last episode. And still a lot of "no no you're imagining things" pushback. Cos Eleven could end a season in an hour otherwise.

If you read longform stories of actual such murders, and you'll find many in the Atlantic or New Yorker, teens or youngsters absolutely don't behave like this in real life. In fact their problem is the opposite. Getting cops to follow all the intel they give.

TW: Suicide

This is one of the more bizarre "unexpected deaths in a small town" true stories I've read. Youngsters IRL don't act like on TV. They talk and share a LOT.

newyorker.com/magazine/2021/…

This is of course very very true. Just not in homicides and serial murders is what I'm saying. This is America. There are sooo many such real cases. Teenagers involved were never acting like those in streaming mystery drama's today.

https://twitter.com/parags/status/1408426334964129800?s=19

Omg the whole "teenager being secretive, obstructing an investigation to hurt parent, and almost dying giving us a few more pointless but emotional episodes" thing is also common in recent indian crime or mystery dramas. 😂😂😂

I know it's called family man so some family drama is default but still, Dhriti had to be written as extremely and unrealistically stupid and self destructive for this season to stretch this long, no?

It's like all streaming show contracts have a clause that they must have a stupid teenage girl who does really really stupid self destructive things but it all still works out in the end.

Damn, it's not just streaming. Serious question. Have drama shows, in which adults are the main characters, ever shown a teenage girl who has not done something stupid and self-destructive to spite her parents? And did this trope start with The Sopranos?

But Willow is not really in the same boat. She occasionally does believable stupid stuff. But generally, she comes across as a normal sensible girl. All teen girls after her think, like even in #TheAmericans are basically the same stereotype. One audiences can call stupid.

If anyone can think of a teenage daughter of a main character from a major TV/streaming drama show in the 21st century who is not pissed off at her parents who are either divorced or in trouble marriages, and is not making blatantly bad life decisions, let me know.