Television series
Baby
Other titles called Baby: the 2015 film.
Baby is an Italian drama about two privileged Roman teenagers who reject their sheltered world and slip into the city's nightlife and sex work. It's seductive and morally murky, unflinching about pleasure and consequence. For viewers who want their teen dramas darker and more complicated than the American standard.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you like teen dramas that look at class and secrecy with a cool, observant eye, where the glossy surface of a privileged school hides something colder underneath.
Skip it if you want likeable heroines and a comfortable pace; the characters are often selfish and the show lingers in its moods rather than rushing toward payoff.
What it asks of you: Eighteen episodes of around forty-six minutes over three seasons, so it is a real commitment, and it wants patience with slow scenes and sustained attention to who is lying to whom.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Gomorra: La Serie2014
Naples crime epic that shares Baby's refusal to moralize. Stunning filmmaking, a sprawling cast, moral ambiguity that cuts deep. You'll be absorbed.
But Incredibly bleak and violent. Not a story about redemption. Requires patience with Italian pacing and non-linear plotting.
Élite2018
Spanish boarding school drama that also mines class anxiety and forbidden desire. Sleek, propulsive, a murder mystery built from teenage desperation and rage. Addictive.
But The mystery structure can feel contrived. Some plotting prioritizes shock over character. Melodrama sometimes overwhelms the smarter ideas.
Skins2007
British teen drama that treats its characters as complex moral agents, not victims or saints. Raw, funny, genuinely moving. The template for modern dark youth television.
But Earlier seasons are better than later ones. Some storylines haven't aged well. British accents and slang can require adjustment.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Baby
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Nymphomaniac: Vol. II2013
Both use the female body and sexuality as a site of rebellion and self-harm. Both refuse easy judgment. Both ask: what does it mean to want something that destroys you?
Lars von Trier's explicit, philosophical film about desire and self-destruction. Operates in the same moral space as Baby but at art-film intensity. You'll be arguing about it for weeks.
But Genuinely graphic sexual content. Four hours long. Punishing and austere. Von Trier's maximalism isn't for everyone; some find it pretentious or exploitative. Genuinely difficult.
More like this (8)
Fleabag2016
A woman navigating sex, family, and self-destruction with wit and unflinching honesty. Formally inventive and deeply moving. Only six episodes per season, so you'll binge it.
But Tonal whiplash between comedy and tragedy isn't for everyone. The protagonist's choices can be infuriating. Lean toward British comedy sensibility.
The Girlfriend Experience2016
Starz series about a law student turning to sex work. Formally adventurous, genuinely erotic without being exploitative. Treats its subject with intelligence and visual sophistication.
But Deliberately paced and abstract. Not plot-driven. Riley Keough's flatness works for the character but can feel cold. Only two seasons.
Flowers2016
British dark comedy about a dysfunctional family. Tragicomic, genuinely strange, moving without sentimentality. Will stick with you long after it ends.
But Defiantly bleak. Very British. Uneasy tonal balance might feel like it doesn't know what it is. Small cult following, not mainstream.
Beautiful Boy2018
Timothée Chalamet in a shattering portrait of addiction and the parent who can't save their child. Intimate, gorgeously shot. Will break you cleanly.
But Relentlessly sad. Jumps in time, which can be confusing. A film about helplessness, not solutions. Requires emotional readiness.
A Prophet2009
French prison drama about a young man's ascent through ruthlessness and cunning. Brilliant filmmaking, morally complex, hypnotic. Criminally underseen.
But Subtitled. Long (150 minutes). Violence is casual and frequent. The protagonist is not sympathetic, which some find exhausting.
My Brother's Keeper2020
Italian coming-of-age drama about two brothers, class, and the violence of circumstance. Intimate and raw. Strong if you want something slightly quieter and more introspective.
But Slower than Baby. Less glamorous nightlife, more family claustrophobia. Limited international profile. Smaller scope may feel less gripping.
Return to Seoul2022
Both follow young women rejecting family and belonging in favor of something harder to name. Both use a city as playground and mirror. Both resist the comfort of closure.
Davy Chou's film about a young Cambodian-French woman searching for her biological family in Seoul. Formally daring, tonally unpredictable, gorgeous. Fresh and unsettling in equal measure.
But Quietly structured. Resistant to narrative momentum. Not a feel-good redemption story. The protagonist's detachment can read as emotional absence. Subtitled; slow burn.
Climax2018
Both trap young people in a night that reveals something dark beneath pleasure and freedom. Both use gorgeous surfaces to conceal corruption. Both are about the moment before everything changes.
Gaspar Noé's fractured, hallucinatory film about dancers whose sangria is poisoned. Startling formally and visually. Uses dance, color, and sound in ways cinema rarely does. You will not forget it.
But Extremely graphic and disturbing. No linear plot to hold onto. Noé's provocation often feels like provocation for its own sake. Not entertainment; it's an assault on the viewer.
