2020 · Based on 1 season, 8 episodes through November 2, 2020 ·
The show follows Fraser Wilson, a restless fourteen-year-old who moves from New York to a U.S. military base near Chioggia, Italy, in 2016. His mother Sarah takes command of the base, while his other mother Maggie tries to keep the family together. Fraser feels trapped by his new home, his violent anger, and his confusing feelings for friends and adults. The slow, dreamy drama follows him and Caitlin through parties, family fights, first love, and the pressure of military life.
Caitlin is a black teenager who sometimes uses the name Harper and presents herself as a boy while trying to understand her gender. Fraser teaches her about nonbinary identity, and their friendship becomes the center of the season. The show also includes two mothers raising Fraser, a romance between Maggie and Caitlin’s mother Jenny, and Fraser’s unclear attraction to boys and girls. The story treats identity, sexuality, and changing labels as open parts of growing up, and it ends with Fraser and Caitlin sharing a kiss before their families separate.
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Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for We Are Who We Are.
Woke representation / casting
The central cast gives major roles to a black teen exploring gender, a lesbian woman who commands a military base, and her wife. The story also centers a Black-Nigerian family and a varied group of military teenagers. The setting can plausibly include these people, so the score does not rest on a simple race or gender mismatch. The repeated identity focus makes representation visible in the main story.
34%
Woke political dialogue
The teens directly discuss transgender identity, nonbinary identity, hormones, and universal freedom. The base also carries election talk through Trump, Clinton, Richard’s MAGA support, and a Muslim-ban message. The sixth episode ends with Clinton’s call to keep fighting for what is right. The story keeps most politics in the background of personal conflicts.
34%
Identity-driven story themes
Caitlin repeatedly tests the names Caitlin, Albert, and Harper while changing clothes, hair, and manner to explore a male identity. Fraser introduces nonbinary language and treats the search as an open question. The season also shows two women in a same-sex affair and leaves Fraser’s attraction to boys, girls, and Caitlin without a fixed label. The final episode brings the two teens together in a kiss after their identity conflicts.
85%
Western institutional / cultural critique
Sarah faces anger from male soldiers after becoming the female colonel in charge. Richard treats her authority as a threat and tries to control Caitlin’s changing identity. The paintball game and a background rape joke present macho military culture in a harsh light. Craig’s deployment and death question the human cost of military service. The story still keeps its focus on family and teenagers.
38%
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. The series is an original story about military families and teenagers. It does not change an established character, canon, or historical figure.
0%
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
NewsBusters ran a hostile article that called the gender story a transgender agenda and attacked the show’s treatment of soldiers. The supplied X research found no title-specific anti-woke posts, boycott, pile-on, or review-bombing. The Army’s production-support refusal cited only unspecified themes, so it does not prove an anti-woke complaint. Most other coverage discussed the show’s slow style and identity story instead of calling it woke.
14%
Creator track record context
Francesca Manieri’s cached score is 78/100, and her past work centers on gender, sexuality, and female empowerment. Sean Conway’s cached score is 55/100, with a miniseries led by a transgender character among his notable work. Luca Guadagnino’s cached score is 53/100, and his films often explore queer desire and fluid sexuality. Paolo Giordano’s cached score is 18/100, which gives the group a less uniform record. This mix strongly matches the show’s identity focus.
57%
Production
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