Why Are You Like This 2018 Series Mia Review

『Complex Identity and Social Satire of Gen Z』

🎥 Series Overview

🎬 Title: Why Are You Like This (2018)
🌍 Country: 🇦🇺 Australia
🎞️ Genre: Black Comedy / Sitcom / Social Satire
🗓️ Production & Airing: ABC, 1 Season
⏳ Runtime: Approximately 20–25 minutes per episode
📺 Platform: ABC, some streaming available (varies by region)

👩‍💼 Cast: Naomi Higgins – Penny
Olivia Junkeer – Mia
Wil King – Austin

🧩 Story Deep Dive (Spoilers)

🎭 South Asian Bisexual Mia

In the series Why Are You Like This, Mia is one of the most controversial and provocative characters in young adult Australian comedy. She is one of the three main friends and is portrayed as a South Asian bisexual woman, embodying the contradictions and socio-political fluency experienced by young people in this era to an extreme degree.

Mia is the character that best embodies the series’ central goal of 'satire'.

✍️ Character Identity and Role: Weapon of Satire

Mia is not merely a comedic side character but serves as the engine of satire illustrating the contradictions of 'Political Correctness (PC)' and the 'Woke Gen Z' generation targeted by the show.

• Socio-political Fluency: Mia possesses deep knowledge of identity politics, including race, gender, and sexual orientation, and is skilled at using it as a weapon in conversations or debates. However, this knowledge often becomes a tool for self-interest. For example, she may advocate for LGBTQ+ rights while simultaneously engaging in selfish or unethical behavior.

• Archetype of the ‘Unlikable Protagonist’: Mia deliberately avoids winning audience favor. She is self-centered, occasionally brutally honest, and openly criticizes her friend Penny’s anxiety or moral dilemmas. This breaks away from the traditional comedy trope of a 'flawed but ultimately good' protagonist, reflecting the selfish and complex nature of modern youth.

🧸 Mia’s Behavioral Pattern: Contradictory Pragmatism

The key to understanding Mia’s character is her 'Contradictory Pragmatism'. Her actions often deviate from moral standards but are ultimately linked to economic insecurity as a survival mechanism.

• Survival-driven Unethical Behavior: Mia frequently loses jobs and faces economic instability. This background provides justification for her actions, such as extorting men she meets on dating apps or exploiting others under seemingly "legitimate" pretexts. Ethics are secondary to survival, reflecting the frustrations of highly educated but underpaid young adults.

• Cynicism and Indifference: When Penny struggles to be a 'perfect ally' or worries over trivial online controversies, Mia typically responds with extreme cynicism and indifference. She considers such moral 'hand-wringing' a luxury, ignoring real-life problems like housing or employment.

❄️ Mia’s Relationships with Others

Mia’s interactions highlight her complex personality.

• Relationship with Penny: If Penny exemplifies the 'White Ally' plagued by moral anxiety, Mia coldly ignores and sometimes exploits that moral high ground. Their dynamic humorously portrays class and identity conflicts within the Woke Gen Z.

• Relationship with Daniel: Roommate Daniel often remains indifferent or relaxed as a neutral observer. His interactions with Mia provide comic contrast to her extreme behavior, allowing viewers to objectively assess her exaggerated traits.

🦉 Face of Gen Z Satire

Mia exemplifies why this series is considered a leading Gen Z comedy.

• Reflection of Meme and Cancel Culture Era: Mia’s humor is fast-paced, sometimes inappropriate, and captures the raw honesty of the internet age. Her actions challenge social norms while asking viewers the question: “Why Are You Like This?”

• Self-satire and Authenticity: The character draws from the experience of co-writer Humayra Mahbub. Mia’s extreme traits are intended to satirize contradictions within far-left progressives, giving her provocative behavior an insider perspective legitimacy.

Mia is the most unpleasant, funny, and truthful character in Why Are You Like This. She fearlessly exposes how modern youth struggle between ethics, survival, and identity politics through self-deprecating humor.

🎯 Personal Rating

💕 Love Scene Level: ♥♥
⭐ Rating: ★