Paapa Essiedu, best known to many for his acclaimed performances in series like I May Destroy You and Gangs of London, recently found himself at the center of both creative triumph and personal turmoil. Taking a break from his much-publicized role as Severus Snape in HBO’s reboot of the Harry Potter franchise, Essiedu dove into a very different kind of storytelling—one that’s intimate, raw, and deeply human. The BBC’s upcoming series Babies, created by Stefan Golaszewski and produced by Snowed-In Productions, explores the heart-wrenching realities of baby loss, and, as Essiedu himself admits, left a mark on everyone involved.
Essiedu’s decision to step away from the world of wands and wizardry for a month-long shoot was not just about professional variety. According to Deadline, the timing was fraught: the actor had just endured a wave of race-fueled death threats after his casting as Snape, a role that’s been the subject of heated debate due to both the legacy of the character and ongoing controversies surrounding J.K. Rowling. Yet, in the midst of such external pressures, Essiedu found solace and purpose in the safe environment Golaszewski fostered on set.
“When we had the physical manifestations of baby loss within the home, well there are still days where I think about some of the things I saw and heard in those scenes,” Essiedu told Deadline. “More because they were so real and so authentic.” The series, which launches on the BBC next week and features in the international panorama section at Series Mania, follows Stephen (Essiedu) and his wife Lisa (played by Bodkin star Siobhán Cullen) as they navigate the aftermath of losing a child. Charlotte Riley and Jack Bannon round out the main cast as a younger couple, bringing further nuance to the show’s exploration of relationships and grief.
Filming Babies was anything but routine. The production, which unfolded largely within the confines of the protagonists’ flat, demanded a level of emotional intensity and honesty that left a lasting impression on its cast. “There were also days that were incredibly joyful and hilarious, and also days that were very mundane,” Essiedu reflected. “Stefan has that incredible knack for being able to isolate domesticity and allow domesticity to be a connection of manifestation and truth. So I had all different types of experiences.”
For Essiedu, the challenge wasn’t just in the script or the subject matter, but in the emotional arc itself. “It was a bit of a head f**k in terms of charting a character arc,” he admitted, underscoring just how demanding it was to authentically portray the highs and lows of such a personal tragedy. Yet, what made it possible was the sense of security and clarity established by Golaszewski and the production team. “Because we were helmed by someone who had such clarity of vision available at all times, it wasn’t challenging,” Essiedu said. “I find often that challenge comes from not feeling safe on the ground that you are building on. There were such strong foundations and a sense of clarity in the working environment.”
Siobhán Cullen, who plays Lisa, also brought a deeply personal approach to her role. She told Deadline that she leaned on the experiences of friends and family to bring authenticity to her performance. “I have lots of people in my life that were kind enough and generous enough with their stories that I was able to speak with, and not just in terms of pregnancy loss,” she explained. “To have people in my life that I can ask to give me their full birth story, warts and all, was great. Because I think a lot of women sometimes after they have a baby just say it all went well. So I asked all my closest friends to send me their voicenotes and videos and spent a whole afternoon just listening to them.”
That willingness to engage with the real, unvarnished experiences of others is part of what makes Babies stand out. Golaszewski, whose previous BBC work includes the quietly powerful Him & Her and Mum, said the series isn’t strictly autobiographical, but it’s certainly informed by life’s challenges. “I’ve been through a lot of the issues dealt within it, so that meant I was aware of the positivity that could come from that kind of story,” he said. For Golaszewski, the aim is always to elicit a genuine emotional response. “I try and get a core human connection because that is the most useful thing that a piece of art can do. Maybe that finds its expression most usefully in relationships. I don’t really have a message and think when things have a message the writer is just talking about himself. Everything I do is at the service of the person who puts the TV on and wants to feel something.”
In a television landscape often dominated by spectacle and sensationalism, Babies is a quiet outlier. Its focus on the everyday—on the moments of laughter and the stretches of monotony that punctuate even the most difficult periods—grounds its portrayal of grief in something universally recognizable. The series doesn’t shy away from the pain of loss, but neither does it wallow. Instead, it offers a nuanced look at how people connect, cope, and ultimately endure.
The timing of Babies couldn’t be more relevant. Conversations around baby loss, though still often cloaked in silence, have become more open in recent years, with public figures and advocacy groups working to destigmatize the topic. By bringing these stories to a mainstream platform like the BBC, the creators hope to foster empathy and understanding, not just among those who have experienced loss, but among all viewers.
Essiedu’s journey from the magical corridors of Hogwarts to the intimate, sometimes claustrophobic spaces of Babies is emblematic of an actor unafraid to tackle difficult material. Despite the external pressures—including the deeply troubling threats he’s faced—he’s found meaning and even healing through his work. The support and safety he experienced on set were a stark contrast to the hostility he encountered in the public sphere, and it’s clear that this environment allowed him, and his co-stars, to deliver performances of rare vulnerability and power.
As Babies prepares to make its debut, both at Series Mania and on the BBC, it stands as a testament to the power of storytelling that is both specific and universal. By shining a light on a subject too often relegated to the shadows, the series invites viewers to reflect, to empathize, and perhaps to start conversations of their own. For Essiedu, Cullen, Golaszewski, and everyone involved, the hope is simple yet profound: that those who tune in will not just watch, but feel.