The Baby Trailer: Parenthood Is A Nightmare

Raising a newborn is one of the hardest things a human being can go through, even if the pregnancy was planned, so imagine the difficulty of raising a baby that seemingly comes out of nowhere ... and also seems to be a harbinger of freak accidents and deaths. Well, that's the story behind the new HBO limited series "The Baby."

The series will contain eight episodes in total and stars Michelle De Swarte as Natasha, an unbothered thirtysomething living her life as it comes. But everything changes when a baby falls from the cliff above her home and lands in her arms, along with a gigantic boulder that smashes a police car chasing what seems to be the baby's mother, killing them. Natasha now finds herself the unlikely caretaker of this random baby, who turns out to be a legitimate terror that brings pain and punishment. 

The premise may sound like the start of a horror film, but "The Baby" is unafraid to acknowledge how unsettlingly hilarious the circumstances are, as this is a comedy, y'all! Despite the similar title, "The Baby" is not a remake of the horror film of the same name but is clearly inspired by the boom of pregnancy horror films from the 1970s like "Rosemary's Baby."

"It's just a lot, all the time, forever," a character says. If that's not the simplest way to describe parenthood, I don't know what is. The trailer describes the show as "the most terrifying new comedy," building to a genuinely creepy shot of someone bent out of shape on the swingset with the baby crawling away in the background. "The Baby" comes from Siân Robins-Grace and Lucy Gaymer as a co-production between HBO and Sky Productions. Sister, the company behind "Chernobyl" and "Landscape," are serving as producers alongside Proverbial Pictures. Executive producers for "The Baby" include Robins-Grace, Nicole Kassell, and Jane Featherstone, with Carolyn Strauss and Naomi de Pear representing Sister. Katie Carpenter serves as co-executive producer, with Gaymer producing.

Alongside Swarte, "The Baby" also stars Amira Ghazalla as the mysterious Mrs. Eaves, an elderly woman who pops up every time the Baby brings chaos, Amber Grappy as Natasha's younger sister Bobbi, Patrice Naiambana and Sinéad Cusack as Natasha's parents, and Shvorne Marks, Isy Suttie, Tanya Reynolds, Seyan Sarvan, Karl Davies, and Divian Ladwa in supporting roles.

The eight-episode series is heading to HBO and the HBO Max streaming service beginning on April 24, 2022.