10 TV Shows for Yellow September
Carolina
Argentinian Carolina has an extensive movie background in the cinematic universe. She is our resident TV analyst and a seasoned expert in global streaming platforms. She showcases her comprehensive knowledge through her love for Netflix 'Originals', Frozen, The Good Place, and The Dragon Prince.
September has been the month devoted to the awareness of suicide and mental health.
Probably you may have stumbled upon some posts on social media addressing this topic.
10th September is World Suicide Prevention Day, which was established in 2003 by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP), with the sponsorship of the World Health Organisation.
This movement is known as Yellow September, and it has been embraced by mass media, influencers, and anyone with a presence on social media to create content about suicide prevention and mental health awareness.
Entertainment content like films and TV shows is the best outlet to spread awareness about sensitive topics like suicide and mental health.
For this reason, I’ve selected 10 TV shows, both animated and live-action, dealing with these topics.
September was chosen as the month of awareness for suicide and mental health, but this awareness should be kept throughout the year.
What is Yellow September?
Yellow September finds its origin in 1994 after the suicide of 17-year-old American boy Mike Emme.
His family handed out yellow ribbons during his funeral, evoking the same colour as the 1968 Ford Mustang Mike had restored.
This little initiative, born of the pain of a family, became a worldwide movement, leading to the creation of the Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Program, with 10th September as the central day.
With the support of the International Association for Suicide Prevention and the World Health Organisation, every year, the whole month becomes yellow to talk about a taboo that takes thousands of lives around the world.
Since 2024, the theme of the campaign is “changing the narrative on suicide”.
Mental health must be put on the table for everyone to end blaming the victim and actively help them.
Let’s talk about suicide and mental health through these wonderful yet heartbreaking shows.
How to watch these shows in your country
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1. Orange (2016)
Drama, Romance, School, Shoujo, Seinen
1 season – 13 episodes
Available on Rakuten Viki (the US)
After 10 years, Orange is still one of the strongest references in anime regarding sensitive topics such as depression and suicide.
Based on the manga of the same name by Ichigo Takano, Orange blends science fiction with romance and slice of life to tell a tragic story about a group of friends willing to sacrifice anything to prevent one of them from dying by suicide.
Orange is the limit of shoujo and seinen demographics.
It has all the tropes you can find in a typical school romance shoujo, but addresses heavy and mature topics.
Naho Takamiya is a 16-year-old girl in her second year of high school.
One day, she receives a letter from her future self in 10 years, telling her that she must prevent one of her “biggest regrets” related to the new transfer student, Kakeru Naruse.
The letter gives her precise instructions on what to do and not to do, but Naho is sceptical and doesn’t follow it.
Through the letters, Naho learns that Kakeru is no longer in 10 years because he dies by suicide the day after Valentine’s Day in the same year he was transferred to her school.
What Naho doesn’t know is that Kakeru has been battling depression for a while due to his overprotective and sick mother, who died by suicide on his first day of school.
Through the episodes, Naho’s friends receive letters from their future selves, all with the same purpose: to listen to and help Kakeru to prevent him from taking his own life.
The point of the story is not the reason for how they get letters from the future.
That’s just a plot device to put on evidence of the tragic and silent suffering Kakeru is going through.
Orange is an anime that emotionally destroys you but at the same time heals you.
I watched it a few months after my dad passed away. So, I was in the middle of the first stages of grief, when you deny and at the same time are angry.
Orange helped me to cry not only for the nature of its topic but also because I needed to realise my own sadness.
Why Orange is important to the suicide and mental health conversation: the series addressed how lonely depression is and how the people around a depressed person are the last ones to notice it.
Even when this person says they’re not feeling well and they’re considering taking their lives, their feelings are often dismissed as an exaggeration and not taken seriously.
The series shows both sides of a difficult and tragic situation like this. The silent suffering of the person going through depression and the guilt of the people around them knowing all this when it is too late.
2. 13 Reasons Why (2017)
Drama, Mystery, Suspense
4 seasons – 49 episodes
Available on Netflix (worldwide)
13 Reasons Why belongs to what I consider the Netflix Golden Age, when the streaming market wasn’t as split as today, and Netflix delivered a successful series after another.
Back in the moment, 13 Reasons Why stirred some controversy because of the rawness of its themes and how the series portrayed them on the screen.
Yes, it’s a difficult series to watch; I won’t deny this.
However, making a taboo of these topics is what has been so wrong for a long time.
If we’re going to talk about depression, anxiety, bullying, and suicide as a consequence, then let’s call things by their proper names.
The series is based on the best-selling young adult novel Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher.
Although the novel has been a New York Times bestseller for three consecutive years, it has faced backlash and been among the most banned books in the US between 2010 and 2019.
If a book is banned, it probably is telling some truths that make it uncomfortable for certain people.
The story follows Clay Jensen, a sophomore student who, after the suicide of his classmate Hannah Baker, receives a box with cassette tapes that were prepared and sent by Hannah before killing herself.
In the tapes, Hannah tells the 13 reasons why she died by suicide and the people who drove her to make this decision.
Also, she left detailed instructions on whom the tapes must be passed on to. Clay is not the only one to receive the tapes; his other implied classmates do, too.
The series got a mixed reception because of the rawness of its situations, but again, a series addressing such complex and sensitive topics can’t be light.
Why 13 Reasons Why is important to the suicide and mental health conversation: in contrast with Orange, in which the depression and subsequent suicide is due to personal struggles, 13 Reasons Why puts on evidence how the high school social ecosystem through bullying pushes some teens to depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation.
This is not new, but minimising it is like trying to hide the sun with the hand. Bullying is a worldwide issue and not only relegated to the school system.
When the novel was published in 2007, the internet hadn’t taken control of every aspect of our lives yet, so cyberbullying wasn’t the main concern. However, today, we face two types of bullying: in person and virtual.
This series is the type of show that parents and teachers should watch to see how the behaviour that is often labelled as “kids’ stuff” is actually not.
3. My Life is Worth Living (2021)
Animation, Drama, Teenagers
Available on YouTube (worldwide)
My Life is Worth Living is an interesting web animated project with the purpose of being an educational tool for parents, teachers, and teenagers.
The series is split into 10-minute episodes focusing on a character and their specific situation facing bullying, depression, anxiety, substance consumption, etc.
According to the description on the official website, “My Life is Worth Living is the first animated series that models the human connection shown to be protective against suicide. The series tells stories of characters who face some of the most difficult issues that young people deal with and shows their evolution in the key decision: that life is worth living.”
My Life is Worth Living is a joint endeavour between The Cook Centre for Human Connection and Wonder Media, an animation studio led by Terry Thoren, who is the former CEO of Klasky Csupo, Inc.
If you grew up in the 90s, this name probably sounds familiar to you.
Well, Klasky Csupo was the studio behind the first 65 episodes of The Simpsons, and they produced Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys.
The series is available on the official YouTube channel, which is primarily in English, but there are four international channels in Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, and Chinese.
The official website offers playbooks and lessons for parents and teachers to work with kids.
Definitely, this series is an amazing tool to approach difficult topics and open up the conversation between teenagers and adults.
Why My Life is Worth Living is important to the suicide and mental health conversation: this series was created with the express purpose of serving as educational content to prevent suicide among teenagers.
So, it’s an excellent tool to open conversations inside the classroom and at home about the different issues and struggles that are common in young people.
If you have teen children at home or you’re a teacher, don’t hesitate to approach this web series and get the material from the official website.
4. BoJack Horseman (2014)
Adult animation, Dark Comedy, Drama, Sitcom
6 seasons – 76 episodes
Don’t be fooled by the trailer of this series.
At first sight, BoJack Horseman looks like any average raunchy animated comedy for adults.
However, the truth is the series is way deeper than it looks and delves into serious and heavy topics such as depression, anxiety, addiction of all kinds, suicide, self-destructive behaviour, etc.
Even though suicide is not the main theme of the series, BoJack Horseman is a great example of a TV show addressing mental health in general.
What’s interesting is that the series focuses on a character, the titular BoJack, who belongs to the entertainment industry.
So, it portrays how this peculiar environment damages the involved people’s mental health if they don’t have a secure network to be mentally and physically supported.
In this case, humour works as a vehicle to portray otherwise awful situations.
The series was created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg, with character designs by cartoonist Lisa Hanawalt.
The story follows BoJack Horseman, an anthropomorphic horse voiced by Will Arnett (30 Rock, Arrested Development), who used to be a sitcom star in the 90s.
Now, he’s preparing a comeback by presenting his autobiography, ghostwritten by Diane Nguyen, voiced by Alison Brie.
In the meantime, BoJack lives his depressed life, haunted by alcohol and other substance addictions.
The whole series is a portrayal of how the ephemeral fame gained during youth can become the worst enemy once time passes.
When the series was launched, it wasn’t met with positive reviews by the critics, but once the first season ended, the critics praised the characters’ development and the serious topics it addressed.
Stuart Jeffries from The Guardian summarised his reviews of the final season by saying that “From alcoholism to miscarriage, Netflix’s hit animation has tackled the toughest of subjects with a side of animal magic. As it ends, it remains both wise and poignant”.
Why BoJack Horseman is important to the suicide and mental health conversation: the series is a faithful portrayal of how Hollywood can become a heavy burden for their stars and the reason why so many actors and actresses succumb to addictions, alcohol, and some of them die by suicide.
The animation medium allows a fantasy setting of anthropomorphic animals, serving as a better vehicle to portray human miseries.
5. A Million Little Things (2018)
Comedy, Drama, Romance
5 seasons – 87 episodes
Available on Hulu (the US)
A group of close friends is shocked after one of them dies by suicide.
This tragic loss leaves the friends vulnerable, asking many questions that can’t be answered.
Now, with the grief comes the realisation that they’re probably hiding more than they share between them.
When A Million Little Things was released on ABC, it was considered the counterpart of This Is Us from NBC, putting the focus on friendship instead of family bonds.
However, the similarities are only on the surface.
This initial comparison made by the critics was detrimental to A Million Little Things, and it’s a shame because it’s a show that dares to tackle a sensitive and sometimes taboo topic in American TV.
The series features an ensemble cast with David Giuntoli, Romany Malco, James Roday Rodriguez, Christina Ochoa, Christina Moses, Stéphanie Szostak, Lizzy Greene, and Ron Livingston.
Why A Million Little Things is important to the suicide and mental health conversation: the show could have many flaws, as the critics kindly noted in their reviews, but it addresses and develops an important topic: men’s mental health.
A group of male friends, portrayed with all the clichés of being best buddies and bros, gets devastated when the most successful and wealthiest of them kills himself.
So, A Million Little Things opens up the conversation about how men conceal their feelings in order to look strong, paying the high price of their mental wellness.
As a TV show, it could have some structural and developmental issues, but I consider A Million Little Things to be brave in portraying how toxic masculinity has damaged millions of men around the globe by making them feel weak if they address their depression, anxiety, and any other human mental health condition.
6. Wonder Egg Priority (2021)
Drama, Horror, Psychological
1 season – 12 episodes
Available on Crunchyroll (worldwide)
Wonder Egg Priority may have gained fame because of technical issues, but it is still a reference when it comes to the topic of suicide in anime.
The series is an original anime co-produced by Aniplex, Nippon Television, and D.N. Dream Partners, with the animation made by CloverWorks (Spy x Family).
The story centres on Ai Ohto, a teenage girl who has become a hikikomori after her best friend died by suicide.
Ai gets a Wonder Egg, a gashapon-like item, that transports her to a surreal world.
There, along with three other girls who are mourning their friends, Ai must fight grotesque creatures called “Wonder Killers”. These creatures are physical manifestations of traumas related to suicide.
The girls are promised that if they protect people in this strange world, their friends are going to be resurrected.
Wonder Egg Priority blends genres like magical girls with horror.
Although it’s not the first time that this combination has been done, here, due to the sensitive topic, this mix gains more relevance.
The series also explores other derivative themes like school bullying and how the dynamics between students can have serious and tragic consequences if the adults in charge don’t play their role as they should.
The issue around Wonder Egg Priority is related to the series structure, narrative, animation quality towards the final episodes and the end of the series that feels inconclusive.
CloverWorks chose to reunite a young and inexperienced team of animators who struggled to meet the hard deadlines.
Also, Shinji Nojima, the director, was directing an animated project for the first time because his main experience was in live-action drama series.
Even with all these issues, Wonder Egg Priority is still regarded as a great anime with an amazing initial animation, maybe too ambitious for the team that was in charge.
Why Wonder Egg Priority is important to the suicide and mental health conversation: even when the overall setting is a fantasy with horror elements, this serves as a vehicle to address how suicide among teenagers is escalating, especially in Japanese society, due to high expectations from the adult world and the bullying in the adolescent world.
Wonder Egg Priority deals with the close friends of children who have taken their lives and how they cope, or not, with their loss.
Depression in the form of becoming a hikikomori (people who isolate themselves and stay in their room without going anywhere) has been an issue in Japanese society for decades. A society that neglects mental health, with one of the highest suicide rates in the world.
7. The Virtues (2019)
Tragedy, Drama
1 season – 4 episodes
Available on Sky (the UK), Channel 4 (the UK)
If Stephen Graham features in a British TV series, you can be assured of two things: top-notch production and drama.
The Virtues follows Joseph (Graham), who is devastated after his wife and 10-year-old son move to Australia, while he remains in England.
Alone and depressed, Joseph decides to spend his last pennies on going back to Ireland, his native land, to reunite again with his sister Anna, after 30 years of distance.
This situation opens up traumas and wounds from the past he has been repressing all those years.
The main trauma is related to the sexual abuse he received when he was a kid.
The Virtues is heavy; it’s not kind in how it portrays the mental health consequences of child abuse, with suicide among them.
This mini-series received positive reviews for its rawness in accounting for such sensitive topics and Graham’s amazing performance.
Why The Virtues is important to the suicide and mental health conversation: childhood sexual assault is one of the main reasons behind suicide in adolescents and adults.
The terrible consequences, both physical and mental, leave a mark that most victims try to conceal by repressing these memories.
The Virtues does an amazing job by showcasing these situations. These four episodes are intense and provoking, putting on the table several topics that society avoids facing.
8. Until We Meet Again (2019)
Thai drama, Fantasy, Romance, Tragedy
1 season – 17 episodes
Available on Rakuten Viki (the US, Canada, and other selected countries)
Asian dramas often address serious topics such as depression and suicide.
In this case, this Thai drama uses the suicide topic as the vehicle to develop a love story between boys.
The story begins 30 years ago with two university students in Bangkok, Korn and Intouch, who are involved in a romantic relationship.
Their relationship is not accepted by their families; at the time, they have to face the prejudices of the time.
Korn and Intouch endure many crises as a couple until they die by suicide together.
In the present time, Pharn is a 19-year-old freshman university student whose whole life has been marked by nightmares and the strange feeling of waiting for someone he doesn’t know.
When he’s back in Thailand, he meets Dean, a 21-year-old student at the same university he attends.
Dean has spent all his life searching for someone whose face he can’t remember.
Pharn and Dean end up falling in love as they did 30 years ago as Korn and Intouch.
The series uses the plot device of reincarnation and the concept of the red thread of fate, a common belief in Asian cultures, to develop two boys’ love stories bound by tragedy.
Why Until We Meet Again is important to the suicide and mental health conversation: even when the tragic event happens at a time when the acceptance of homosexual relationships was a rarity, it’s still relevant today, with hate discourses around the world taking prominence again.
The LGBT community has always been one of the most vulnerable ones regarding mental health and suicide.
So, even when there are supernatural circumstances in this story, the trigger is realistic, and it has never lost importance.
9. In the Flesh (2013)
Horror, Comedy, Drama, Zombies
2 seasons – 9 episodes
Available on Prime Video (Australia, Canada, the US), Hulu (the US), Peacock TV (the US), Shudder (the US), AMC+ (the US), BBC iPlayer (the UK)
In the Flesh is a British drama series with horror elements belonging to the zombie sub-genre.
At this point, we all know that zombie stories go beyond the horror element to analyse and criticise society as a whole.
In the middle of the success that was The Walking Dead back in the early 2010s, and drawing inspiration from Warm Bodies, the zombie film starring Nicholas Hoult, Dominic Mitchell wrote and directed In the Flesh for BBC3.
In this series, we witness the aftermath of what was called The Rising, an event that brought back to life recently deceased people in the shape of flesh-eating zombies.
The government found a cure and managed to control the outbreak by administering some drugs to the undead so their brains can work again.
Now the zombies are people suffering from PDS (Partially Deceased Syndrome), and through some treatment they are inserted into society again.
At the centre of the story, we have Kieren Walker, masterfully played by Luke Newberry, a 17-year-old boy who killed himself due to the depression he was sinking into after the death of his best friend Rick, a soldier in Afghanistan.
Kieren went back to life during The Rising, becoming a feral flesh-eating zombie.
Now, he has received treatment from the government, so he must wear contact lenses and makeup to conceal his zombie appearance and try to fit into a society that fears him and hates him, starting with his family.
Kieren’s existence as someone with PDS is even more miserable than when he was alive.
He must cope with his memories of his suicide, the crimes he commits as a zombie, and the rejection by his family.
Kieren and Rick were more than best friends. For this reason, Rick’s death affected Kieren so strongly, leading him to kill himself.
The series explores many angles regarding suicide, anxiety, depression, sexuality, grieving, and how society as a whole treats what’s different.
Sadly, after two successful seasons, BBC 3 cancelled In the Flesh due to budget constraints.
Why In the Flesh is important to the suicide and mental health conversation: within the frame of a zombie outbreak, In the Flesh addressed several sensitive topics.
The main character dies by suicide because he cannot cope with the death of his best friend for whom he feels more than friendship. So, here enters how teenagers deal with their sexuality and their fears in coming out of the closet.
After the rising, the families and loved ones of the people who turned into zombies must cope with a mixed bag of feelings.
Kieren’s parents were still dealing with the impact of their son’s suicide and trying to understand his reasons when he’s back as an undead who must take a drug forever; otherwise, he could kill them all in a second.
The series also portrays how a society gets broken after such an event in which they get back the loved ones they are mourning, but at the same time they don’t want them back under those conditions.
As you can see, the zombie element is just an excuse to explore deep and complicated dynamics.
10. The Girl from Plainville (2022)
Biography, Docudrama, Crime, Drama, Mystery
1 season – 8 episodes
Available on Sky (the UK), Channel 4 (the UK), 9 Now (Australia), Hulu (the US)
I can easily affirm that Elle Fanning is one of the best actresses of her generation.
She’s the star of The Girl From Plainville, a drama produced by Hulu, based on real events.
The series is, in fact, an adaptation of the article The Girl from Plainville by Jesse Barron, published on Esquire on 1st October 2017.
The series follows the case of Michelle Carter, who, in June 2017, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of her boyfriend, Conrad “Coco” Roy III, by suicide because of the text messages she sent the boy before his death.
Of course, the media put Michelle immediately in the role of the villain, but behind such a tragic outcome is more than meets the eye.
However, there is still the question: Can someone’s words be powerful enough to kill a person?
The series displays on screen the real text messages exchanged between Michelle and Conrad.
Most of their relationship developed through messages and calls; according to Conrad’s mom, the couple met in person only 5 times in two years.
And going back to the question, yes, words can kill.
Mainly when they come from people who are meant to love you, but when you’re going through depression, just one word can crush your heart or make you believe the world would be better without you.
And Conrad was a boy who had been struggling with depression after his parents divorced and also received some physical aggression from his father.
So, Conrad was dealing with a lot, and Michelle was his girlfriend, support, and the person to whom he confessed everything, like a living journal.
He had suicidal ideation for a while, and through the text message exchange, it was noticed that Michelle was pushing him to do it.
Even though the series focuses on the trial Michelle faced under the charge of involuntary manslaughter, through flashbacks, all the toxic dynamics they shared in their relationship are displayed.
Elle Fanning’s outstanding performance deserves a chapter alone.
Why The Girl from Plainville is important to the suicide and mental health conversation: the series has an interesting approach to the suicide topic.
The point here is how susceptible a person suffering from depression is and the dangers that someone manipulative poses to a person with such a condition.
Even though anyone of any age could be in this situation, young people are the most vulnerable, and for this reason, it is the responsibility of parents, teachers, and any other significant adult to pay attention to the relationships between young people.
Get some help
These 10 TV shows addressed the difficult topic of suicide and mental health.
If you’re suffering from depression, anxiety, and have suicidal ideation, please seek help right now.
Talk with your family and friends, and look for people who can help you.
If you know someone going through difficult times, don’t hesitate to offer support.
Please, don’t be judgmental, don’t minimise their pain, suffering, or sadness, and don’t compare it with yours or anyone else’s.
Just listen, give advice, and get help.
Here are important contact numbers:
In the UK
Samaritans (free, open 24/7):
116 123
National Suicide Prevention Helpline (open 6pm to midnight every day):
0800 587 0800 / 0800 689 0880
If a life is at immediate risk, call 999.
In the US
988 Lifeline
In the rest of the world
On this website, you can search your country and get the numbers of the helpline nearest to you.
Summary
September is the month of awareness of suicide and mental health.
Of course, this awareness must be constant and not bound only to a month.
Entertainment content like films and TV shows is a powerful tool to spread awareness about sensitive topics.
This list is a selection of 10 TV shows with suicide and mental health as the main topic.
Whether animation or live action, a drama or a sci-fi story, these series take different approaches to the same difficult topic.
If some of these shows resonate with you because you’re going through a difficult time, please seek help now.
