“The Assembly” misses the mark: here’s how I’d get it back on track

_{An image of an empty director’s chair, with a classic black and white clapperboard on the ground beside it, and a megaphone.}

Let’s cut to the chase: mainstream media still has a serious disability problem. Look no further than the recent missteps of The Assembly, ABC’s show where Autistic journalism students are mentored by Leigh Sales. On paper, it sounds great—Autistic students interviewing high-profile figures like Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Sam Neill. But in practice? It’s a disaster.

As someone with Autism, I find The Assembly cringeworthy and condescending. Instead of empowering these students, the show feels more like a showcase for non-disabled audiences to pat themselves on the back and feel good about their “inclusivity.” You know, classic inspiration porn.

John Delmenico also gave his honest review of the show – which you can read here.

Let’s not kid ourselves – The Assembly is less about authentic representation and more about feel-good optics. The students are portrayed in a way that feels infantilising, and the mentorship seems more about training them to mask their true selves than honing their journalistic instincts. If this show was truly about elevating Autistic voices, we wouldn’t need Leigh Sales swooping in to “fix” these students. What we really needed were mentors who understand Autism firsthand—Autistic people guiding other Autistic people.

Meanwhile, ABC’s Austin is showing exactly how it should be done. Austin is an Autistic character played by an Autistic actor. Simple, right? The character is allowed to be unapologetically himself—he’s blunt, quirky, and doesn’t fit neatly into societal expectations. And guess what? The world doesn’t end. He’s a multidimensional human being with interests, a job, a family, and a community.

What makes Austin work isn’t just the authenticity of the character—it’s the fact that he’s not used as some kind of emotional crutch for the audience. His Autism is just one facet of who he is. He’s not there to inspire us or make us feel warm and fuzzy inside. He’s part of a larger cast, living his life just like everyone else. Imagine that!

Now, compare that to The Assembly. The whole thing feels crafted to make non-disabled viewers feel virtuous for watching. It’s like they’re saying, “Look at these brave Autistic students trying their best! Isn’t that heartwarming?” Sorry, but we deserve more than being used as props in someone else’s feel-good narrative.

What The Assembly fails to grasp is that Autistic people don’t need to be “fixed.” We don’t need mentors who teach us how to “fit in” with neurotypical standards. What we need are platforms that amplify our unfiltered, raw voices. Let us ask the uncomfortable questions that only we would think to ask, and let the world deal with it. That’s where the real magic lies. That’s where innovation happens.

If The Assembly wants to be groundbreaking, it needs to ditch the inspiration porn and focus on the systemic barriers in the media industry that keep people like us from thriving.

Why not bring in Autistic mentors who have navigated these obstacles themselves? Instead of having Leigh Sales teaching Autistic students how to conform, how about she investigate the ableist structures in the media industry that need dismantling?

While Austin gets it right by letting the character’s Autism be a natural part of his life, The Assembly stumbles over its own self-importance. The show tries so hard to be inspirational that it forgets to be real. And that’s the problem with most disability representation today – it’s more about making non-disabled people feel good than about telling authentic stories.

If we want real progress, it’s time to stop sugar-coating disability and start confronting the uncomfortable truths. Stop making us out to be heroes just for existing, and start seeing us as people with complex lives, talents, and voices worth listening to.

Now that’s the show I’d want to watch.

PS: We’ll be talking about disability representation in the media at our next Open Dialogue on October 29th – would love to see you there! Register here: https://disabilitydialogue.com.au/events/reel-inclusion-disability-in-film-and-tv/