Television series
In the Club
In the Club follows six pregnant women and their partners through a parentcraft class as their lives intersect and collide. It's warm and funny but never soft, mining genuine drama from the messiness of becoming a parent. For anyone who's been pregnant, partnered with someone who has, or simply curious about the chaos beneath the surface of that enormous life change.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you like ensemble drama about ordinary people stumbling through big life changes, where the laughs and the nerves sit close together.
Skip it if you need a fast plot or a tidy arc, since this moves at the unhurried pace of waiting rooms, its drama living in small domestic moments.
What it asks of you: Its shape is steady and patient, an hour an episode across twelve episodes, with attention given to slow conversations rather than cliffhangers.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Call the Midwife2012
A richer, deeper dive into pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum reality. Spans decades and weaves social history through intimate personal stories. Emotionally devastating in the best way.
But Twelve seasons in and still going, so commitment required. Some storylines veer toward heavy-handed moralising about modern life versus the old days.
Fleabag2016
Sharp, fast, and brutally honest about family chaos and life plans falling apart. The fourth-wall breaks make you complicit in the messiness. Genuinely hilarious without sacrificing emotional truth.
But The humour is dark and cynical. If you want warmth and reassurance, this isn't it—it's more about surviving your own brain.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel2017
Pregnancy as a plot point that derails everything, treated with specificity and rage. Stylish, witty, and unafraid to let its female characters want contradictory things simultaneously.
But Period production gloss can feel like it's smoothing over the grimier truths. Lighter on the nitty-grit of actual parenthood than In the Club.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from In the Club
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Tully2018
Both refuse to soften motherhood or pretend the transition is anything but a seismic rupture. The specificity about what's actually hard, not what you're supposed to find hard.
A woman in postpartum crisis hires a night nanny, and the film becomes a portrait of how motherhood can hollow you out. Diablo Cody's script cuts like glass. Charlize Theron is unflinching and raw.
But Genuinely dark about depression and exhaustion; there's no redemptive arc or neat resolution. If you're looking for inspiration, this is the opposite—it's survival.
More like this (8)
Catastrophe2015
An unplanned pregnancy detonates two people's lives and relationship. Manages to be both hilarious and genuinely tender about commitment, mistake, and love building anyway.
But Irish and American slang-heavy dialogue can be hard to follow. Ends on an ambiguous note that some find frustrating rather than haunting.
This Is Us2016
Parenthood as the central plot, woven through three timelines. Examines what it costs and what it gives. You'll cry, and you'll mean it—not because you were manipulated but because you recognise something true.
But Can feel overly sentimental; the show sometimes mistakes emotional volume for depth. If you're wary of network drama sentimentality, this leans into it.
Olive Kitteridge2014
Four-part limited series about adults in a small town, including parents watching their children leave and stay. Understated, observant, and cuts to the bone of what family actually is beneath the myth.
But Deliberately paced, even slow. If you want plot momentum, this is contemplation dressed as drama. Some find it too quiet to engage with.
Normal People2020
Intimate, unsentimental portrayal of how two people's lives become entangled and complicated. Shot with such care you feel every moment. A masterclass in showing rather than telling.
But Graphic in places and sometimes very bleak. The relationship at its centre is destructive even when it's compelling, and that's never smoothed over.
Motherland2016
Comedy-drama about mothers navigating school runs and friendship and sanity. Balances genuine emotional stakes with laugh-out-loud absurdity. Feels lived-in and specific without preaching.
But Skews toward the chaos-and-wine comedy trope, which can feel lightweight compared to In the Club's emotional depth. Some arcs feel unresolved.
Friday Night Dinner2011
Multigenerational family gathered weekly, bickering and loving each other. Deceptively simple format lets you see real character work beneath the jokes. Genuinely moving by the final season.
But Deliberately small-scale; nothing much happens beyond the dinner table. If you want plot, this is anathema. Also ends abruptly after season six, which felt sudden to many viewers.
Boyhood2014
Both capture the gap between what we expect parenthood to be and what it actually is—the small, strange, unmarked moments that become the real substance of family life.
Shot over twelve years, watching a boy and his parents age in real time. The film is less about plot and more about the accumulation of small moments that form a life. Hypnotic in its ordinariness.
But Nearly three hours. Nothing dramatic happens; if you want a story with shape and climax, you'll be frustrated. Some find the slowness precious rather than profound.
Minari2021
The ensemble cast navigating competing versions of what family should be, and learning that love doesn't always look like you imagined. Same warmth, same hard truths.
A Korean-American family plants roots in rural Arkansas, and the film becomes about what sacrifice for the next generation costs. Shot with poetry and tenderness. Yuh-Jung Youn's grandmother is a masterclass in presence.
But Slow and deliberate in its pacing. Subtitled if you watch the Korean sequences. The emotional payoff is quiet and internal, not cathartic—some find it unsatisfying.
People
Cast
Writing
- Kay MellorCreator