Struggling against dealing with life challenges, the Hughes, a small family, who do their best to deal with their younger son, Joe, who suffers form autism.
At its core, there is a fascinating and unique story of one child's difficult-to-understand world, and his parents who are being dragged into compassion, kicking and screaming all the way.
What drives the show forward, and makes it a landmark portrayal of a disorder too often stigmatized or left undiscussed, is that second, all-important A Word: acceptance.
The soundtrack is a good'un and the scenes of Cumbria are beautiful. If only the script had fewer clunky sex scenes and more told from Joe's perspective.
As the Hughes figure themselves out, making a lot of wrong decisions along the way, it also challenges viewers to consider our own lives and choices, and how we might react to these same situations.
The A Word gathers its own quiet power as a succession of portraits of people under stress without becoming unbearably morose, thanks to regular bits of dotty British eccentricity and a few comic misunderstandings.
In its fearless specificity, The A Word is universal, even as it shines light on the special challenges autism imposes on that child and everyone around him.
If The A Word sounds dark and depressing, it isn't. Joe's autism is the central plot point, but this is also a messy soap opera about a family that's always butting heads.
