History Series / Atypical

* TrojanGauntlet: Zahid takes Sam to go shopping for condoms, and HilarityEnsues as Sam asks about them.

* HollywoodAutism: Sam's characteristics and personality show that [[ShownTheirWork the writers attempted to research the condition]], but they are [[UpToEleven exaggerated]] immensely for both [[PlayedForDrama Drama]] and [[PlayedForLaughs Comedy]].

* GenderEqualEnsemble: The Gardner family is two males (Sam and Doug) and two females (Casey and Elsa). These are the only four characters to make an appearance in every episode of the show.

* BisexualLoveTriangle: In the first season, Casey seemed to be straight-up heterosexual, having sex with her boyfriend Evan. However, come the second season she started to question her sexuality with a girl, Izzie, whom she meets at her new school Clayton Prep. By the third season, she is torn apart by her attraction to both of them, but ultimately goes with Izzie over Evan—that isn't to say she didn't break down crying when she broke up with Eva

* GoodAdulteryBadAdultery: [[spoiler:Each of the three adulterers]] is portrayed as very sympathetic, if [[InformedWrongness still wrong in their endeavors]].

* AntiSmotherLoveTalk: Despite being ashamed of Sam's autism, Doug attempts to convince Elsa that their son should be allowed to pursue an independent adult life in the form of living away from parents, managing his own bank account and experiencing romance. Doug even tries to help Sam as much as possible in growing up.

* IGaveMyWord: Sam, after [[spoiler:casually mentioning he skipped his Ethics midterm to uphold his promise to Zahid, and keep him from failing out of nursing school]].
--> It's not a quandary.

* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: Sam has this realization about his college prospects after Miss Whittaker (his guidance counselor and autism support group coordinator) is impressed by his artistic abilities.
* YourCheatingHeart: One of the first season's plot points is Elsa's affair with a bartender named Nick, which kicks off some of the second season’s conflict between her and Doug.
** [[spoiler:Doug and Casey each]] end up having an emotional affair that results in a kiss.

* BlackBestFriend: Sharice is this to Casey.

* BiTheWay: Though Casey has a relationship with Evan (and had sex with him twice), she is attracted to Izzie. [[spoiler: In Season 3, Izzie and her share a passionate kiss and Casey breaks up with Evan. Later, Casey admits that kissing Izzie felt exciting and amazing.]]

* ToxicFriendInfluence: Evan thinks that Izzie is a negative influence on Casey.
** Also, Gretchen is clearly this to Zahid.

** {{Lampshade| Hanging}}d by Zahid when Sam first reminds him of the promise:

* LargeHam: Paige is probably the most prone to this. In the season 1 finale, [[spoiler:she slits a giant stuffed penguin's throat in front of Sam's house while yelling at him while he's inside.]] In season 2, she has a rather over-the-top and hammy meltdown about her bench being "mutilated", [[spoiler:and in the season finale, is ''furious'' when she finds out that Sam's yearbook was vandalized, calling her classmates "shitbirds" and demanding to know "hoot-hoot-WHO did it".]]

* ParentsAsPeople: Both Gardener parents have their own story arcs and bouts of character development.

* IGaveMyWord: Sam, after [[spoiler:casually mentioning he skipped his Ethics midterm to uphold his promise to Zahid, and keep him from failing out of medical school]].

* GoodAdulteryBadAdultery: [[spoiler:Each of the three adulterers]] is portrayed as very sympathetic, [[InformedWrongness if still wrong]] in their endeavors.

* AwkwardFirstSleepover: Sam has a sleepover at his friend Zahid's house in preparation for going to college (Sam is autistic and has never spent the night away from home before). The various noises and sounds in Zahid's room irritate Sam and make him leave the room, and a police officer notices Sam wondering down the sidewalk. A misunderstanding causes the officer to think Sam is on drugs, and Sam and Zahid are taken to the police station. At the station, Zahid notices the clock displaying 12:07, and he points out to Sam that Sam's managed to stay away from home past midnight.

* QuestForSex: Sam's and Paige's, which quickly become one and the same quest. [[spoiler:Every one of 'the four bases' are reached around the end of each season / the beginning of the next.]]

* YourCheatingHeart: One of the first season's plot points is Elsa's affair with a bartender named Nick, which kicks off some of the second season’s conflict between her and Doug.