I started watching the first episode with lots of hope for an inspirational modern take on living with cancer. The overview looked promising and I usually love shows that take on difficult subjects with a positive yet realistic spin. Everything started well. The initial setup wasn't bad and the lead actress was engaging. That's about where it stops. No more than 10 minutes into the show, the lead is berated (only as a joke of course) for being a feminist (her co-worker jokes that she should just ask the guy out that she's swooning over at the office because "you're one of those annoying girls that does that right?" Her response, "What, you mean a feminist?")This theme continues throughout the rest of the episode. For example, after the lead and the love interest have a great date one night, the love interest overhears only part of a conversation (after he chooses to eavesdrop in a stairwell, so that screams healthy mentality already) the next day between the lead and her uncle. He immediately jumps to conclusions, gets unjustifiably angry at the lead and starts blowing her off with no explanation or conversation as to why. Rather than her taking this as a sign that he's unstable and a poor communicator, she sweats over his denial of her. She confronts him and as soon as he understands the full context of the conversation (which wasn't his right to know in the first place), the script is written so it seems to play out as HE is forgiving her, as if she was in the wrong. And she immediately swoons again and starts kissing him. It continues in Ep 2 when the love interest says, "You're stable. You're solid." she responds with, "Please none of these are sexy adjectives." Really? Because now we need to perpetuate that stable, self-sufficient woman aren't sexy?Ep 2 also sees the introduction of the lead's new boss - and attractive female senior corespondent. Before you get all excited about a strong female character, they wait no more than 5 minutes before they objectify her: the lead's co-worker makes an inappropriate sexual innuendo while the camera angle cuts to a shot of the woman walking away, clearly focusing on the tight pencil skirt she's wearing. She speaks 5 languages, but it's the way she looks that really makes her desirable. This degrading of a strong female character continues later in the episode as they proceed to portray her as a "bitch" boss when she takes an interview op from the lead - effectively creating a stereotypical "catty women relationship" between the lead and her boss. These are just a few examples of what is continually strewn throughout this show. It's really disappointing that a show that had so much potential with casting a woman lead, a heavily female cast, and setting up a storyline that should inspire hope, would turn out to be such a letdown on so many levels. If you're looking for an example of what misogynistic tones (both blatant and underlying) look like in Hollywood, then this is your show! If not, switch over to Jessica Jones or House of Cards or even throw on an old classic, Friends, where at least you can laugh at their pre-FB existence with a fun sense of irony.

I have been watching with some reservations for awhile but now I am done. Should not have killed Leo, he was one of the better characters. I would rather April had died. She is so unrealistic with her cancer, taking trips without protection, running around without protection, quitting her job knowing she has major money issues coming up with treatment. So she takes vacations while mom is trying to pay her bills. Really! She has delayed treatments, thought about what to try, they had only given here about 2 months, are we supposed to forget that and do you take a trip with no protection from germs in that situation. Then there is Brena, what is going on in her head, she is a mess. Not sure what will happen from here on but killing Leo was a mistake so I won't be watching.

The show really pulled me in without ever feeling like it demanded anything from me. Some shows you feel need your full attention, others want you to cry every other episode, some drive you insane with cliff hangers. For me this got a great balance of keeping my interest without asking too much of me for what it is.It stays reasonably light hearted and doesn't take itself too seriously. It's also great if you're feeling a bit sorry for yourself to put things in perspective while not making you feel bad about occasionally wallowing in your own self pity, possibly while binge watching this show online.I watched the whole first season in about three days while recovering from surgery and loved it. Really looking forward to season two :)

I'll be honest, when I first saw the promos for the show I couldn't help but think "How insensitive" or that it looked vaguely cheesy. I happened to catch the first episode late one night and I was so surprised. It was so good. What I like most about the show is how well it incorporates side characters and subplots. The situations that happen outside of April's(the main character)scope are actually intriguing and sometimes emotional. I actually care about what is going on around her and don't find the subplots tedious or boring. Also,the show does a great job at including cliff hangers while also going back to tie up some loose ends in a way that doesn't make anything feel random or left out. It gets me excited to see what will happen next but without feeling annoyed that nothing gets resolved. Overall the plot is very multifaceted, the characters are interesting, and I find myself looking forward to the next episode. I really enjoy it and hope it doesn't get canceled!