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Alphas is an upcoming American fantasy television series that will premiere at 10 pm. on Syfy on July 11, 2011.

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Ryan Cartwright as Gary Bell. Gary is in his twenties, sensitive to many factors of his environment, and dependent upon rigorous routine. Despite any perceived limitations, Gary is also a "transducer"—a human antenna. His neural synapses have the ability to "read" a wide range of frequencies including television, radio, and cell phone signals in the same way people typically hear the everyday sounds around them. Gary's alpha skill is incredibly effective and allows him to intercept communications and encrypted messages. However, it can also be overwhelming for him when he is unable to turn these signals off.

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Cartwright as Gary Bell, a member of the team who has Asperger syndrome who can "read" wireless transmissions passing through the ether.

Naturally, the autism community carefully watches portrayals of autistic characters on television, something the show's creators seem to be aware of. "Everyone involved in the show is taking great pains to be sensitive to the autistic community," says Cartwright.

Dr. Susan Bookheimer, a faculty member at the UCLA Neuroscience Program, who has served as a consultant for "Alphas," offering advice on aspects of Gary's presentation and symptoms. Bookheimer also consulted on each script as it was developed.

"I read the dialogues and gave input on how this character might have reacted, the kinds of things he would and wouldn't say, and generally tried to give insight into the inner life of a high functioning person with autism," she says. "I wanted to help make the character as genuine as possible, not a caricature, but a real person with many of the issues that an individual with autism has."

For his part, Cartwright researched autism in order to be able to play Gary as a real person. He says that in addition to consultation with people who work with autistic individuals, he watched documentaries and read books by autistic authors Temple Grandin and Daniel Tammet, along with vlog and blog sites created by autistic people.

"Reading about autism and neuroscience helped me understand the reasoning behind a lot of the physical attributes and difficulties of people with autism, which in turn helped me create, as opposed to imitate, a physicality for Gary," he says.

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On the show, Gary's speech is convincingly stilted and echolalic (repetitive of others' vocalizations), which is even more impressive when you take into account the fact that in real life, Cartwright speaks with a British accent. The character's sense of humor adds an air of levity to the show and gives him extra personality at the same time that it challenges the idea that people with autism are humorless.