A horror comedy about an evil baby who kills everyone he meets? The Baby has a premise that screams the kind of horror schlock you expect to find on Shudder rather than a show made in collaboration with HBO. But this is one of the best TV shows of the year.
Natasha (Michelle de Swarte, brilliant in her second acting role) feels left out when all her friends have children, because she wants everything to stay the same.
She takes a break to a secluded cabin under a cliff to clear her head when – splat – a woman falls off a cliff, followed by a baby who, unbelievably, grabs Natasha in her arms. The problem now is she can’t get rid of it and every time she tries someone ends up dead. eek.
The Baby belongs to the kind of horror that made Jordan Peele popular: the social horror. It’s scary, sure, but it also has something to say.
The Baby is about motherhood and care in all its forms. It takes a wry look at how a baby can take over your life and make you feel like nothing you’re doing is so good that you just want to scream — but it also looks at the pressure on women who have decided not to have children and how they feel. impose on their lives anyway.
It’s about torn family structures and how new families can be formed in the most unlikely of circumstances. It’s about choice and the brutal lack of it. It’s even about queer love stories in the 1960s. A whole lot is bubbling under the surface.
But you can think about these things and, most importantly, The Baby is wildly fun. Each episode is a tight 30 minutes that almost always ends with a huge cliffhanger (often one I didn’t see coming) begging you to watch another episode.
It’s filled with gore and gore and some brilliant jump scares. The writing is incredibly sharp (with snappy one-liners from a game-supporting cast) and Michelle de Swarte is fantastically funny as she tries to figure out if this baby is trying to kill her or if she’s going crazy.
In addition, you cannot underestimate the real charm of a horror, where the evil presence is a cute baby who usually just smiles and laughs. Make sure you don’t leave The Baby in the corner – this show deserves your attention.
The Baby airs on Sky Atlantic on Thursdays at 9pm†
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