The premise of All Her Fault is simple: a mom goes to pick up her son from a planned playdate, only to find out he’s… not there. Moreover, the person answering the door has never even heard of the child. Panic understandably ensues, and people from all directions seem to find ways to place the blame on the mother. After all, mothers are supposed to know better than to plan a playdate with someone whose home they’ve never visited, right? They’re supposed to know better than to plan a playdate via text, surely? And really, why is this mother working when she should be with her child, yes?
From the get-go, Peacock’s All Her Fault expertly drives home all the ways in which women, and in particular mothers, bear the brunt of responsibility in all facets of life. Succession’s Sarah Snook stars as Marissa Irvine, the wealthy, white, working mother at the center of the story. She’s clearly a mother who cares about her son Milo (Duke McCloud). She’s also someone who values her career and her personal time.
Before the kidnapping, she really does seem to more or less have it all. But when one of the worst things that can happen to a parent does, Marissa crumbles… though only momentarily. Because here’s the thing: as the mother, she doesn’t even have the luxury to really tap out. Instead, she has to take the criticism on the chin, whether it’s from a journalist at a press conference insinuating she faked the kidnapping or from her own husband, Peter (Girls alum Jake Lacy), blaming her for not being more thorough when making the playdate plans. Marissa is clearly the glue that holds everything together, and if you don’t get that by the end of the first episode, you’re not paying close enough attention.
Marissa isn’t the only one being blamed for things. Jenny (Dakota Fanning), another mom at Milo’s school and new friend to Marissa, is also frequently finding herself in the crosshairs. Her husband, Richie (Thomas Cocquerel) ensures that she’s the default parent and then makes her feel guilty for enjoying her publishing career, for not spending more time with her son, and for getting dragged into the disappearance of Milo. Sarah (Melanie Vallejo), who embodies the overly-involved, hyper-controlling PTA mom trope to a tee, also piles on.
And then there’s Lia (Abby Elliott), who sheds her “responsible big sister” role from The Bear to, play a recovering drug addict who deals with endless guilt for inadvertently disabling her and Peter’s brother Brian (Daniel Monks) when they were kids. Over several episodes, we see how Peter looks at her with suspicion even though she’s simply trying to do her best.
Based on the novel by Andrea Mara, All Her Fault is, at the heart, a drama that pits friends and family against one another. Each of the eight episodes unleashes new information to get us closer to figuring out exactly what happened to Miles and who is responsible.
Much of that info comes from the detectives working the case, Alcaras (Michael Peña) and Greco (Johnny Carr), though it’s Alcaras who really takes the lead. Peña does an excellent job of playing not only a detective who cares about the case, but also a father to a boy with multiple disabilities. Detective Alcaras also dominates one particular episode which almost takes you out of the initial wealthy-family/missing-child drama and into a different story, about a working dad who’s just trying to do everything he can for his boy.
While the white, able-bodied men on the show are constantly blaming the women around them, it’s worth noting that the “others” on the show (Alcaras along with Brian and Marissa’s business partner Collin, played by Insecure’s Jay Ellis) actually step up to defend them. Intentionally or not, this dynamic showcases the ways in which those with even slightly less agency are often quicker to recognize misogyny or oppression than those with more privilege. The show also manages Brian’s storyline with some finesse, calling out Peter’s ableism, and using an actually disabled actor for the role.
Written, executive produced, and created by Megan Gallagher (Wolf, Suspicion), and directed by Dead To Me’s Minkie Spiro and The Handmaid’s Tale’s Kate Dennis, there’s plenty of amazing talent at the helm of this binge-worthy mini series. Sarah Snook also serves as one of several producers on the show.
All eight episodes of All Her Fault premiere November 6 on Peacock.
