Babies

“Who knew there were so many babies in the world? I barely noticed them, until my wife and I decided to start a family — and suddenly, they were everywhere. The streets were crowded with prams and pushchairs. Couples in every shop and cafe dangled purple-faced infants from papooses strapped across their chests. I hadn’t taken much notice till then — and today I have to admit that, now my own boys are adults, I much prefer other people’s dogs to their offspring. But for a while, babies took over the world. Stefan Golaszewski’s six-part maternity drama, simply called Babies, captures that biological obsession and the way it dominates the lives of prospective parents. Paapa Essiedu and Siobhan Cullen play Stephen and Lisa, a hard-up and deeply affectionate couple in a tiny London flat, reeling from the impact of a miscarriage. Neither of them ever comments on how babies seem to be everywhere — they don’t have to, because Golaszewski’s deft writing and direction makes the fact inescapable.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“The series is a feat of narrative engineering. So many expertly assembled little cogs and pistons working in harmony. It’s an unapologetically adult drama, too, albeit one unafraid to end an emotionally devastating scene with a joke about Chicken Cottage. Quibbles? The themes of toxic masculinity and generational trauma are, at times, slightly overplayed. And the treacly, busker-ish theme tune (which is, inexplicably, performed by Golaszewski himself)? Best to scurry past it with head down and hands in pockets. But enough carping. With this unsettling, compassionate, funny, moving, wildly unpredictable and beautifully acted series, Golaszewski has given us something very special indeed. Babies, then. It’s all good.”
Sarah Dempster, The Guardian

“If you have ever endured the abject misery of miscarriage then, my goodness, Babies (BBC One) is a gut-punch of recognition. If you are going through it now, you will fall on this drama with relief because it shows that you are not alone; here are your experiences on screen in all their heartbreaking detail. And if you haven’t? You’ll probably want to give this a miss. It’s bleak terrain.”
Anita Singh, Telegraph

“It doesn’t feel like dialogue, it is so real that it feels improvised. But at six one-hour episodes, it’s too long (Marriage had only four). Timelines move back and forth but in the final episode Golaszewski tries something more radical with time, which jarred for me. No spoilers here, but I felt it diluted the raw realism. None of this, though, detracts from the fact that this is an exceptional, hugely important drama that dissects a unique kind of torment and for which, I’m sure, a lot of people will be enormously grateful.”
Carol Midgley, The Times