For anybody who ever struggled soon after their baby was born, The Letdown is for you. It is an Australian tv series which has been streamed globally by Netflix and it is, in a nutshell, brilliant. The portrayal of new motherhood by the show's creator, writer (with Sarah Scheller) and star, Alison Bell, is absolutely spot on and almost every aspect of navigating life with a new born is captured in perfect detail. While the scenarios are all too familiar for many, the programme is peppered with enough laughs to ease the frequent moments of crisis and despair that the show's main character, Audrey, suffers from.
With a baby that doesn't sleep, a slightly judgemental mother's group full of strangers, a husband who works far too much, a mother who doesn't pitch in and friends that don't quite understand the struggles of new parenthood, The Letdown beautifully captures the moment in Audrey's life when she realises that the life she had is well and truly gone and the promise of a glossy movie style family is a bullsh*t myth of epic proportions. She's tired and over-whelmed but keeps going and that's the best bit. Because through all the difficulties, and they are the reality faced by a lot of new parents, Audrey realises that just because things have changed that doesn't have to be a bad thing and that people who were once strangers become your friends and actually life is pretty good – even if you haven't slept in 12 weeks!
The Letdown has it's audience and while this is certainly not meant in a sexist way, it will likely appeal more to women who have kids – such as me. In fact, I'm positive that if this has been made nine years ago, it would have been my best tonic for surviving the first few months of a new baby. Now it's just a quirky, funny reminder that no matter how detached from reality your life may seem in the moment, it passes and all is right with the world. And if you can throw a bit of humour into the mix then that's even better. Sadly there are only seven episodes and they whizz by all too quickly. There aren't many shows that are too similar to The Letdown but if you fancy a laugh about families and expectations then Grace And Frankie is one to watch.
