I have schizophrenia. Fiction on this subject is lacking to say the least. I generally don’t like people’s way of showing it literally. However, there are a couple exceptions to me. One, the artists were aiming for, the other was completely unintentional.

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is a game for the Xbox One and PS4 that shows psychosis in a very interesting way. The sound design in the game is particularly good. Playing that game with headphones can be pretty uncomfortable because of just how right they got psychosis sounds. It’s also shown as a generational curse, where some people view it as a gift while others do not. People get killed for dealing with psychosis too openly. Senua will also assume that things that happen in the world are because she is cursed, and it’s her fault, reflecting a very common thread I find in people with schizophrenia.

The second one was definitely not intentional by the creators, as only one of the characters in the show ever get an official diagnosis. King of the Hill has amazing neurodivergent characters. Our schizophrenic character in this series is Dale Gribble, who I’d consider the best written Schizophrenic character I’ve ever seen. Dale is paranoid and delusional, he can quickly synthesize a delusional worldwide conspiracy. However, Dale is also infinitely trusting towards the people he loves. The episode Dog Dale Afternoon is an amazing episode for this. Dale is being an asshole over getting a new lawnmower, so his friends steal it as a prank and start sending him “evidence” to make his delusional side come out. Dale cannot even conceive that someone he trusts would lie to him. It is easier for him to think his lawnmower was stolen by the Cubans to power Castro’s submarine than it is for him to think that his friends aren’t being honest with him. The episode ends not faulting Dale for being played, but criticising the friends that thought messing with his mental condition was funny. Or his son is very obviously not biologically his, but it’s easier for him to think that aliens impregnated his wife to get Dale off the conspiracy trail than to think that his friend that was with his wife the week he was gone is sleeping with her. Dale’s paranoid but loving nature in the show is often used for comedy, but not to make Dale look like a jackass. There are times in the show where his paranoid thought process solves the issues at hand, like convincing Hank that his family is indeed with a cult now, or giving John Redcorn (the guy who fucks his wife) the information needed for Redcorn to get indigenous land back. He’s simply shown as a flawed person, where sometimes his thinking works and sometimes it doesn’t. Even with all his flaws, he is still shown to be one of the most dedicated fathers and husbands on the show. Dale is a flawed person, but really it’s the world around him that’s so fucked up.

King of the Hill is a great neurodivergent show btw. I could argue that pretty much the entire main cast is neurodivergent.