'The Baby' Is A New HBO Dark Comedy About The Horrors Of Parenthood

HBO and Sky will reunite with Chernobyl producer Sister to raise The Baby, a dark horror-comedy series that finally says out loud what we all know: having a child is a nightmare. In the series, a 38-year-old woman unexpectedly finds herself caring for a baby that is "controlling, manipulative" and has "violent powers." So, really, it's just like any other baby.

Per Deadline, The Baby hails from writer-creator Siân Robins-Grace and Lucy Gaymer, and is described as "a raw examination of motherhood as an institution: a set of unspoken rules that affect women differently depending on how they're viewed by society."

Here's a synopsis:

When 38-year-old Natasha is unexpectedly landed with a baby, her life of doing what she wants, when she wants, dramatically implodes. Controlling, manipulative and with violent powers, the baby twists Natasha's life into a horror show. Where does it come from? What does it want? And what lengths will Natasha have to go to in order to get her life back? She doesn't want a baby. The baby wants her.

The "evil, manipulative baby with powers" angle sounds a bit similar to the Alice Lowe film Prevenge, about a woman who's unborn baby directs her to seek murderous revenge against those responsible for her partner's death. The Baby will run eight episodes and be executive produced by Jane Featherstone, Carolyn Strauss, Naomi de Pear, Katie Carpenter, and Siân Robins-Grace, with Lucy Gaymer producing.

"With The Baby, we want to explore the powerful anxiety around the question of whether or not to have children," said Robins-Grace and Gaymer. "The ambivalence of not knowing, the bafflement at everyone else's certainty and the suspicion that the whole thing is one millennia-long scam. We're thrilled to be working with such a phenomenal team of producers to help us bring this weird baby into the world with HBO and Sky."

Amy Gravitt, Executive Vice President, HBO Programming, added: "Siân and Lucy's exploration of motherhood is as funny and resonant as it is twisted. The Baby gives voice to all the women who just don't know. We're thrilled to be partnering again with Jane Featherstone, Carolyn Strauss, and our friends at Sky."

I am firmly anti-baby, so I approve of this show's overall message and am curious to check it out when it arrives. No word at the moment when we might see it, though. We'll just have to wait for The Baby to be delivered.