Logan Marmino plays amputee Josh in the Apple TV+ series “Best Foot Forward.”
Fast approaching its third birthday come November, Apple TV+ (henceforth shortened to TV+) is undoubtedly best known for series such as Ted Lasso and Severance. The film CODA won this year’s Best Picture Oscar in historic fashion. For all the accolades and critical acclaim, however, most mainstream critics and viewers overlook what Apple has done in terms of disability representation in titles on the streaming video service. Shows like See and El Deafo and Little Voice—all of which have spent time in this column’s limelight—are laudable in their own right for authentically depicting disability, on- and off-screen. Given disability’s typically pandering and moribund place in Hollywood history, that Apple has several shows on its TV+ roster that presents disability matter-of-factly and merely part of being human is impressive. With the Americans with Disabilities Act turning 32 this week, it’s important to give Apple the utmost credit for shepherding this; as members of the disability community perpetually fight for their right to exist and have their humanity acknowledged, it’s not trivial that Apple has invested considerable resources into doing just that. They have taken their institutional love for accessibility and applied that ethos to the big screen.
Where See and others have led, Best Foot Forward tries to follow. The ten-episode first season, which premieres today, chronicles the journey of a boy making the transition from homeschool to public school—all while being the only kid in school with a prosthetic leg. The show’s premise is based on the life of Josh Sundquist, a former Paralympian skier-turned-comedian who lost his left leg to cancer when he was 9 years old. Sundquist also is a motivational speaker and author of several books, including the newly-released Semi-Famous: A True Story of Near Celebrity. He’s credited as an executive producer on Best Foot Forward.
“The fact that our show is being made at Apple is evidence of Apple’s commitment to elevating disabled voices in the [entertainment] space, specifically,” Sundquist said of Best Foot Forward’s place in the pantheon of disability-centric shows on Apple’s streaming video service in an interview with me earlier this month done via teleconference. “I think that is a result of Apple’s commitment overall to accessibility, which is most apparent in the really remarkable suite of accessible features. It’s baked into all Apple technology in terms of devices.”
Putting Best Foot Forward on TV+ indeed “felt very much like an organic home,” according to showrunner Matt Fleckenstein. Along the course of developing the show, Fleckenstein and Sundquist engaged in what the former described as “a very specific targeted conversation” about how what they wanted to accomplish meshed well philosophically with Apple. It isn’t an empty bromide for Apple. Fleckenstein emphasized the company isn’t “checking off boxes” when it comes to realizing disability as diversity; the company’s efforts to foster inclusivity and bring underrepresented voices to the forefront has been “very genuine,” he said. Sundquist echoed Fleckenstein’s sentiments, telling me “I think the reason that we’re at Apple is because that’s [the authentic depiction of disability] a priority.” That both parties care so much about the onscreen genuineness “is awesome because it’s something that we care about in equal measure,” he added.
“I can’t imagine having made the show anywhere else,” Fleckenstein said.
As with Apple’s other disability-centric projects, the representational angle is more than screen deep. Sundquist and Fleckenstein’s commitment to authenticity goes beyond what audiences literally see, such as 12-year-old actor Logan Marmino, who has limb differences himself. The production team includes several writers with various physical and neurodivergent disabilities themselves, who lend even more credence to the portrayals in Best Foot Forward. Even the sets were made accommodating for cast and crew who used a wheelchair, for example.
Both Sundquist and Fleckenstein heaped much praise unto Marmino’s performance as Josh Dubin during our discussion, with Sundquist saying in part “the show won the lottery by casting Logan” in the lead role. (Sundquist and Marmino headlined a small promotional Q&A event for the show last month at Apple’s The Grove retail outpost in Los Angeles, which I attended as well.)
“I think on most shows, if you were to rotate the camera around the other way, a lot of the sets would look about the same as they always have,” Sundquist said of diversity on Hollywood sets. “So, it’s important for us to be a part of not just changing who we’re seeing on screen, but also making sure that we’re also giving [representational] opportunities for people on the other side of the camera—in entertainment speak, [we call this] both ‘above the line’ and ‘below the line.’ We really wanted all levels of our crew to [include] people with disabilities.”
Best Foot Forward is semi-biographical, having drawn inspiration for Marmino’s character directly from Sundquist’s own true-life experiences. Many of the storylines are based on things Sundquist actually did at Marmino’s age, such as Josh memorizing each student’s name and photo from the yearbook prior to his first day of public school in the pilot episode. “Something that really drew me to it is, we’re telling universal stories about growing up… just through the lens of a unique perspective of a unique main character,” Sundquist said. “I mean, that’s a formula done on so many different shows. The fact that a unique character like Josh [has taken so long] to be seen on [a] show up to this point is ridiculous.”
In the quest to normalize and humanize disability in film, Sundquist keenly explained how Josh’s character on the show resonates with audiences. Although many people may not relate to Josh in terms of having a prosthetic leg, they certainly can relate to him in the nigh-universal experiences adolescents have growing up. It’s this trait that Sundquist and team have focused on in creating Best Foot Forward—Josh is a person like anyone other pre-teen. He’s feeling the same emotions, going through the same adolescence, and whatnot. He has a disability, but it doesn’t singularly define him. Josh’s limb difference is obvious; that he has more commonality with abled people is the main thrust of the messaging in Best Foot Forward. Even the show’s name has resonance, as it encapsulates the whole meaning of the show in three simple words. “The title is absolutely exactly what we all want to do with the show,” Fleckenstein said. “I mean, Josh is a middle school kid, literally trying to put his best foot forward to figure out who he is in the world—metaphorically [and] literally stumbling as everyone at that age does. He then also happens to have a prosthetic leg.”
Taking a broad view, both Sundquist and Fleckenstein feel they’ve, collectively as a group, have made something “very special and very unique,” Fleckenstein said. Neither men are fortune tellers, but they have high hopes Best Foot Forward resonates with audiences and allows them to build momentum going forward. Future plot points shouldn’t be in short supply either—real-life Josh is 37, while TV Josh is 12. Should more seasons be ordered by the studio, that amounts to “about 25 more seasons worth of material ready to go,” Sundquist told me.
For Sundquist, the opportunity he’s had building Best Foot Forward has allowed him to see himself in ways he never thought possible. The relatability and representation matters to him. “When I was growing up, I never got to see anyone who looked like me on TV,” he said. “I’m so proud and excited to be a part of fixing that.” Even more important, Sundquist added, is that kids Marmino’s age will turn on TV+ on their iPhone or iPad or Mac and see someone like them, going through similar experiences. That, the production team hopes, puts their best foot forward towards engendering more diverse and inclusive representation in Hollywood.
Season 1 of Best Foot Forward is available now in the TV app.
