Within the title of "This Is Life with Lisa Ling" is a sense that the stories are part of a normative, human existence. This, however, is not exactly what this show is about. I have watched perhaps eight episodes of this on Netflix so far, and I am very much in the dark as to what the point of this show is supposed to be.
I don't know if the stories just aren't compelling, or that Lisa Ling tries so hard to empathize with her subjects, but it just doesn't come across as authentic, like she's trying to create emotion that just isn't there. Maybe it's that she's just in these people's lives for a short time to exploit their condition in order to make a television show, and then she's gone. I find that to be very disingenuous and nearly on par with the likes of Springer or Maury (but without the sensationalism).
The stories themselves are what you might find featured in shows like "Taboo" on National Geographic Channel, yet with "insight" from a journalist who, to me, just has a look of being disinterested. These don't tell me anything about life, or shed any new light on the human condition. I am not captivated by their stories, nor do I end up feeling anything for these stories. To me the whole thing just comes across as contrived.
