Little Disasters review based on episodes 1-3.
Little Disasters feels an appropriate name for the new mystery thriller streaming now, starring Jo Joyner, because while it is a compelling watch, the show's little errors prevent it from being a five-star drama.
The six-part series, based on the novel of the same name by Sarah Vaughan, takes the decade-long friendship between four women, who met at antenatal class, and tosses it into a blender.
The results are as disastrous as you'd expect, but there could be no other outcome when A&E doctor Liz (Joyner) is forced to call social services on her close friend Jess (Diane Kruger) after Jess' baby daughter presents with a serious head injury that no one can explain.
Lines are drawn in the sand, sides are taken (not always for the right reasons), and what seemed like an unshakable friendship soon buckles and bows under the strain of these circumstances.
It's clear that Jess is hiding something. There is a confusion and a shiftiness that spills out in the character's voice, while Jess' trauma is conveyed through Kruger's physical performance.
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Jess bears all the signs of a mother who's overstretched and overwhelmed – but could this turn into violence? That is the question that the drama presents, and one that drives you to seek the answers as Little Disasters attempts to explore the nuanced journey that is motherhood.
No one can really get a grasp on what that blanket term – 'motherhood' – really means; a complex experience, that is as commonplace as it is intrinsically unique.
Little Disasters goes some way to capturing that sentiment through its four very different mothers. There's the 'perfect' stay-at-home mum Jess, the busy, working mum Liz, the flying by the seat of her pants – but doing an excellent job – Mel (Emily Taaffe), and Charlotte (Bridgerton's Shelley Conn) who is the career-driven lawyer.
Despite the show focusing on Jess, for obvious reasons, each woman feels the joys and the pressures of what it means to be a mum – as well as "the crippling judgement levied upon mothers by society," as Kruger previously expressed – in different ways.
But that pressure doesn't just come from the wider world, it also comes from each other too.
The problem with Little Disasters is not its story, but its execution. It attempts to give us these varied experiences of motherhood, but something about it feels a little disingenuous in places.
There are moments that feel as though they are born from tropes, instead of being fully fleshed out. There's Jess's naturalistic approach to parenting being spoken about without feeling lived, and of course Mel is the one without a birth plan – how else would the show be able to signpost that she's not that kind of mum, the one with post-it note reminders tacked to the fridge and a wardrobe full of perfectly ironed clothes?
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There are also very few shows that can really utilise the concept of breaking the fourth wall successfully. Netflix's The Residence pulls this off exceptionally well, because the 'break' feels like a character in and of itself.
Other shows understand that the to-camera segments are more rewarding when they're less about telling the parts of the story which are difficult to show, and more a plot device that's about being involved in the storytelling.
But Little Disasters' use of this medium is distracting. It pulls attention away from the main story, and feels ineffective in its pursuit of sharing how these women feel.
Similarly the flashback scenes pull us away from the more intriguing present day story, which only serves to cut the tension. That's not to say that backstory is irrelevant, but more that this approach to recounting events doesn't quite land.
While this could be a creative attempt at delaying gratification, holding back the mystery to make us crave it more, it slows the pacing which can sometimes lead to a frustrating or even boring viewing experience.
Joyner, however, is magic. The Stay Close actor has the ability to dig into the intimate parts of a role in order to bring that character to life. Joyner brings a truthfulness and grit to her performance as Liz, and it is this that helps carry viewers through the periods of lull until the intrigue picks up again.
Despite her smaller role, Taaffe does something similar, scrapping away at the superficial so that you feel something real in her portrayal of Mel.
The lion's share of the scenes are delivered by Kruger, who brings out some of the more haunting aspects. Through her, it's represented how motherhood can shift on a dime, with each new child throwing life into a whole new (sometimes stressful) dynamic.
However, as a viewer, there is a slight disconnect from the character of Jess. Perhaps it's an intentional move, to show how disconnected she is from herself, yet still it can feel unsatisfying. Perhaps as the series reaches its conclusion, a stronger emotional connection between audience and character will be delivered.
Aside from these flaws, Little Disasters is still a great binge-watching experience. The dynamics between the women and their husbands, as well as the buried secrets woven in between, are enough to drive you to the finish. Even with the sometimes-slacking tension, the overall mystery wins out and will hopefully pay off in the end.
All episodes of Little Disasters are available to stream now on Paramount+.
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TV writer, Digital Spy Janet completed her Masters degree in Magazine Journalism in 2013 and has continued to grow professionally within the industry ever since. For six years she honed her analytical reviewing skills at the Good Housekeeping institute eventually becoming Acting Head of Food testing. She also freelanced in the field of film and TV journalism from 2013-2020, when she interviewed A-List stars such as Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. In 2021 she joined Digital Spy as TV writer where she gets to delve into more of what she loves, watching copious amounts of telly all in the name of work. Since taking on the role she has conducted red carpet interviews with the cast of Bridgerton, covered the BAFTAs and been interviewed by BBC Radio and London Live. In her spare time she also moonlights as a published author, the book Gothic Angel.
