True Crime Mental Health Comedy 'Obsessed' Picked Up for TV

If you love true crime podcasts and struggle with anxiety, a new upcoming comedy series may be the TV show you’ve been waiting for.

On Monday, Deadline reported the CW network picked up a new comedy titled “Obsessed.” The show will follow “an outwardly optimistic millennial” who struggles with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). To work through her fears, she uses “a form of psychologist-approved exposure therapy” as the inspiration for a true crime podcast. Along with a co-worker, Farren investigates an active serial killer in Los Angeles, an incredibly dangerous way to confront her fears.

Exposure therapy is a common type of therapy for treating anxiety-related conditions, including OCD and phobias. You’ll gradually introduce yourself to situations that trigger your anxiety and, with the help of a supportive therapist, stay with the anxiety until it goes away naturally instead of engaging in behaviors to avoid the uncomfortable feelings. The goal of exposure therapy is over time, you become desensitized to your triggers and your anxiety becomes more manageable.

“[Exposure therapy] is the most tried and true method, and I can confirm from personal experience that it does wonders, but it does not come without its challenges,” wrote Mighty contributor Natalie Schroder. “It is a lengthy and straining process that requires an unimaginable amount of strength and patience. It’s often extremely painful. But it’s necessary, and it works.”

“Obsessed” was created by Jessica Amento, Jennifer Kaytin Robinson and Jennie Snyder Urman, who also created “Jane the Virgin.” The CW picked the series up for development, which means it will not air for some time yet. However, the CW is the same network that brought viewers “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” a comedy series that featured a main character with borderline personality disorder (BPD).

“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” which was created by and stars Rachel Bloom as Rebecca Bunch, was praised by the mental health community for its portrayal of mental illness.

“Watching Rebecca Bunch manage and overcome her own mental illness to become the best person that she can be is truly inspiring,” wrote Mighty contributor Alex Worthy. Worthy continued:

It inspires me to reach out to my friends when I need to, to listen to my own body and needs, to recognize when my behavior is toxic and to accept responsibility for it, to apologize to my loved ones and myself and to forgive myself these things. Because of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, a show that makes me laugh, cry and squeal with delight, I have become more aware of what I can do to help myself become a better person in spite of my anxiety and depression. Through her wonderful show, Rachel Bloom has reminded me of something else almost equally as important: in my struggles, I am not alone.