Somehow three years have passed since Rowan Atkinson first introduced us to Trevor Bingley on Man Vs. Bee, and I’m still not over the anxiety it caused. Its cancellation after one season made sense (nine episodes of being bested by an insect was quite enough), but now he’s officially back in the follow-up series Man Vs. Baby. Critics watched the new series, which is available to stream now with a Netflix subscription, and it sounds like we may see a different side to our hapless hero.
Man Vs. Baby is limited to just four episodes on the 2025 TV schedule, but the runtime of each is about a half-hour, compared to its predecessor’s 10- to 20- minute episodes. In the end, this season runs about 2 hours, which is similar to Bee. Are we ready to jump into the reviews and read about more Trevor mishaps? Here goes nothing. Except, Chris Bennion of The Telegraph makes it sound like we may not have as much to worry about in this “unexpectedly lovely,” superior sequel. He rates it 4 out of 5 stars and says:
What makes Man vs Baby work so well is that Trevor pulls us in a completely different direction. Of course he’s still a klutz and he still makes absurdly bad decisions, but he is also wonderful with the baby, eternally optimistic and completely ingenious. We delight this time round not in Trevor’s misfortune, but in his ability to sidestep it.
Joel Keller of Decider says to stream this one, because the stakes are raised with Trevor taking on a baby rather than a bee, and there’s so much more potential for heartwarming stories by setting this season around Christmas. Also, it’s hard to go wrong when Rowan Atkinson and William Davies are involved. Keller writes:
Man Vs. Baby is the kind of show that you can put on and just laugh without thinking too hard, which is likely the exact reaction Atkinson and Davies wanted the audience to have.
Carol Midgley of The Times (UK) gives Man Vs. Baby 4 stars out of 5, writing that on top of the story being “a hoot,” it also bucks the trend of portraying father figures as useless and incapable. Trevor may be clumsy and a bit gullible, but he’s well-meaning, resourceful and deeply loved. The critic says of the series:
It is sweet, funny and Christmassy without being nauseating (much appreciated), with glossily high production values, which may be partly paid for by some pretty unsubtle product placement. … This doesn’t, however, detract from it being a lovely, innocent festive story, expertly manoeuvred by Atkinson as the loveable but naively hapless Trevor Bingley.
Peter Gray of The AU Review gives the series 3 out of 5 stars, calling it “perfect for Christmas season streaming.” Rowan Atkinson’s newest adventure is full of inherent warmness and comedic universality, the critic says, writing:
Given that it’s another foreign living space with an unpredictable presence, Man Vs Baby could have easily lent into expected, even recycled tropes. And though there are some sequences of leaving the baby unintentionally unsupervised, this doesn’t have quite the same level of chaos as Bee. The baby is never in harm’s way enough for us to feel uncomfortable, and whilst it’s always a joy to watch Atkinson flex his physical comedy muscles, Man Vs Baby opts for more of his comedic delivery and ability to navigate situations built on misplacement and environmental mishaps.
It’s not a clean sweep for Man Vs. Baby, however, Rachel Aroesti of The Guardian rates the four episodes just 2 stars out of 5, calling it the “most trite Christmas show possible” that feels nothing like the Rowan Atkinson we know and love. The critic says:
[The action] never escalates into the grand, high-wire, socially subversive physical comedy we expect from Atkinson. Instead, we just get a nauseatingly schmaltzy and nonsensical dose of Christmas cheer helmed by a kind-hearted, capable man. Mr Bean would never.
It seems like Man Vs. Baby could have easily been a retread of Man Vs. Bee, with Trevor personifying Murphy’s Law for another two-hour block of screams (whether of delight or frustration I’ll leave up to you). While Man Vs. Bee was a must-watch, I’m glad to know Rowan Atkinson and William Davies are giving us something different this time around.
If this sounds like a series you want to check out, all four episodes hit the Netflix schedule on December 11 and can be streamed now.
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