Paramount+ we’ve just premiered a riveting new psychological thriller show, and it’s shaping up to be our next watch.
Little Disasters is based on the 2020 novel of the same name by Sarah Vaughn and stars Diane Kruger as a mother whose character is seriously called into question when she takes her baby to the hospital after an accident.
With a fascinating premise, a crisp script, and a fantastic cast, the show looks like a fantastic addition to streaming.
Here’s why Watch with us will be sitting for Little Disasters this december
Netflix is generally considered the best streaming service, so it’s no surprise that its December lineup is so impressive. Thank you! You have successfully subscribed. Subscribe to newsletters Please enter a valid email. Subscribe By registering, I accept the Terms and the Privacy Policy and receive (…)
‘Little Disasters’ has an intriguing premise
Jess (Kruger), Liz (Yes, Joyner), Charlotte (Shelley Conn) and Honey (Emily Taffe) are four very different mothers who became friends while meeting each other during their pregnancies. However, these relationships are thrown into chaos when Jess arrives at the hospital where Liz is on duty, with her baby, Betsy, with a head injury. It’s clear to Liz that it wasn’t an accident, and she’s faced with a difficult choice: give her friend the benefit of the doubt or call social services.
Liz eventually goes with the last option, prompting the disintegration of both the group of women and Jess: an overwhelmed mother who may have been pushed to the limit. Suddenly, all of Jess’s time with her other two children has to be monitored by social services, and the audience is treated piece by piece to what exactly happened to Jess and her baby by bouncing between current events and flashbacks to earlier days with the group of friends. It’s a catchy, emotional premise based on an amalgam of parental fears.
‘Little Disaster’ turns a nightmare scenario into a tense thriller
Little Disasters takes a worst-case domestic scenario and turns it into an engaging mystery story, while building tension from an all-too-real problem: the inherent pressure on women to be perfect mothers. Jess is very clearly portrayed as a mother who stretches herself too thin, and it shows how, despite having two more children first, something changed after having her third, Betsy, but could this have turned violent in some way?
Over the course of the brisk six-episode run, Little Disasters want to answer this question. The suspenseful script co-written by the creator of the series Ruth Fowler i Amanda Duke keeps you guessing at every turn, as we get closer and closer to understanding not only Jess’s psyche, but also that of her family and friends.
The show deftly explores the nuances of motherhood
As questions swirl about Jess’s intentions towards her daughter, Little Disasters it is not an accusation of bad mothers. Rather, it is a careful exploration of the anxieties, pressures and mental toll of motherhood. While it doesn’t just focus on Jess’s mental health leading up to her daughter’s accident, the show also takes time to describe how the other three women also manage motherhood and how a new mother can struggle to adjust to the role.
Jess’s third pregnancy doesn’t go as she hoped, while Charlotte struggles with IVF treatments and Liz faces difficulties with her first pregnancy. There’s joy in motherhood, but there’s also a lot of stress, fear, guilt, judgment and shame, and with every woman expected to slide smoothly into the role, the duress can mount beneath a well-groomed facade. Thus, Little Disasters she is incredibly empathetic in showing how women’s experiences with motherhood are layered, complicated, and flawed.
The performances of Diane Kruger and Jo Joyner anchor the show
The relationship between Jess and Liz drives the show’s inciting incident, and much of the sustained tension derives from their complex history alongside their two other friends, Mel and Charlotte. However, Kruger and Joyner do most of the series’ heavy performance lifting. As Jess, Kruger perfectly portrays the duality of her character: a woman who once seemed to have it all together, but has struggled since the birth of Betsy. Kruger evokes the paranoid emotional spiral Jess endures as her meticulously maintained life suddenly finds herself under a microscope.
On the other hand, Joyner captures the internal turmoil Liz faces, who, even if it was the right thing to do, has to live with the fact that she called social services on her friend. Thus, the character turns to alcohol as an unhealthy coping mechanism. Still, Liz is unsure of the root of Betsy’s accident, and Joyner pulls off the act of expressing genuine concern for her friend’s well-being while also harboring suspicions, especially since Jess and her husband’s accounts don’t match.