Review: ‘In the Motherhood’

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In terms of theatrical value, the business of raising children is limited. It lends itself to revealing anecdotes -- The Day I Glue-Gunned My Son’s Face -- amusing little riffs, and the occasional soliloquy of love and rage.

Take it to long form and you can quickly run into trouble. Parenting often boils down to a series of repetitive tasks and maddening dialogue, much of which has to do with such fascinating topics as bedtime, personal hygiene, sibling-on-sibling violence and the nutritional value of Cheetos.

Which is why television comedy writers so often either genetically manipulate the family -- the parents are liberals, the son’s a Republican! (“Family Ties”) -- or mix and match it -- look, three guys raising kids (“Full House”), two divorced women living together (“Kate and Allie”), a single mom and a male housekeeper (“Who’s the Boss?”) -- just to keep things interesting.

It also may be why ‘In the Motherhood’ worked as a Web series based on real-life stories but not, it would seem, as a television series based on overused stereotypes.

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