Social isolation and alcohol use: lessons from The Queen's Gambit - psychiatry in television.

Abstract

The Queen’s Gambit is a 2020 Netflix miniseries that follows Beth Harmon, a fictional orphan chess prodigy battling to become the world’s best player while simultaneously struggling with alcohol and drug dependency. Although some have argued that the depiction of Beth’s recovery from addiction is unrealistic, these criticisms fail to acknowledge the detailed presentation of the factors that lead to Beth’s substance use and subsequent sobriety.