In The Motherhood, host Connie Britton, who became a single mother herself in 2011 when she adopted her son, looks to not only create a community of single mothers in the K.C. area but also help them live their best lives. To that end, the show has three experts who are called “The Neighbor Ladies,” and they are all mothers themselves.
Opening Shot: At a farm near Kansas City, host Connie Britton hosts a mixer for the single mothers being helped in the first season of The Motherhood.
The Gist: During this initial mixer, the six mothers being helped are introduced to each other as well as “The Neighbor Ladies”: Destini Davis is a parenting coach that helps the single mothers that are profiled not only organize their living spaces, but provides advice that will show them that self-care is also a sign of being a good parent. Taryn Hicks is in charge of transforming the mothers’ personal style, giving them the ability to look more polished but in a way that’s easy to maintain and is within their budgets. Angela Rose takes care of design, helping the mothers define spaces in their homes that will provide them a sense of separation between their parenting selves and the things they do for work or fun.
The first mother the group helps is Tasha Riggins, who is a college professor who is a single mother to her five-year-old daughter Busy. She’s only spent one day apart from Busy since she was born, and thinks they’re co-dependent. On top of that, Busy’s playspace has taken over Tasha’s living room, and Busy’s bedroom is more for storage than anything else; Busy sleeps with her mother pretty much every night. Britton and The Neighbor Ladies want Tasha to reclaim the parts of her pre-parenting identity — like being a long-distance runner — that made her feel like herself. But Tasha needs to be convinced that taking time for herself will help her be a better parent to Busy.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? The Motherhood is Queer Eye mixed with Get Organized With The Home Edit.
Our Take: For the most part, The Motherhood is a sweet show that makes sure it communicates its message about how strong single mothers are. Any parent generally gives a lot of themselves over to making sure their children are loved and well taken care of, with mothers taking the bulk of that burden on. Of course, mothers raising their kids by themselves take all of that burden, often at the sacrifice of their own self-care.
What we liked about the show is that segments aren’t all about Britton and the three experts transforming these mothers’ lives. The producers — Britton is among the show’s EPs — make sure to incorporate other moms from the group they gathered in the first mixer, reinforcing that the oft-cited proverb “It takes a village to raise a child” is true for a reason. Given how many modern parents can’t seem to find other parents they can not only vibe with but also lean on when it comes to friendship, advice, child care, and other things, the idea of bringing the moms together in different ways is admirable.
The tasks that the experts and producers take on are a lot bigger than what is conveyed in a 42-minute episode, which is why it’s evident that the “hows” of some of the steps are skipped. For instance, we spend time with Tasha helping Angela put the finishing touches on a coat rack, and the heavy symbolism of whether she chooses a “Mom” or “Tasha” nameplate for her hook make for a good commercial-break cliffhanger. However, we don’t see Tasha’s physical makeover until the final reveal.
Of course, as with most makeover shows, we sometimes wonder if some of the things the experts teach the people they help is sustainable after the cameras leave. What we hope is that the moms in the gathered group keep in touch with each other, because accountability is a great way to keep from backsliding.
Sex and Skin: None. The show is very family-friendly.
Parting Shot: The transformed Tasha has some mom friends and relatives over, and she says Connie and the experts helped her “get her pink back,” a reference to how flamingo moms lose their pink after their chicks hatch because they give all of their nutrition to their babies.
Sleeper Star: Suburban Kansas City does feel like a warm, inviting place. The reason why the show takes place there is because that’s where Hallmark is headquartered.
Most Pilot-y Line: The Stitch Fix product placement is pretty obvious. Thankfully, that seems to be the only product placement in the series.
Our Call: STREAM IT. The Motherhood can be a bit stilted and goofy at times, but Britton and the show’s experts seem to be pretty sincere in their mission to get these single mothers to find themselves again, as well as rely on each other.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.
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