The new Polish Netflix Original, The Mothers of Penguins, has to be one of the most intense family dramas to have been released on the streaming platform. To explain it in brief, this six-episode show is about parents and their children. The children are differently abled, and the parents go out of their way to make them feel included and accepted. The show has many characters, parents, children, and teachers for the most part.
Kamila
Masza Wągrocka portrays the role of the single mother, Kamila, aka Kama. Kama is also an MMA fighter who is having a tough time accepting the fact that her son Jas might be on the spectrum (autism) as well. There are signs and behavioral patterns that Kama is informed about, but she chooses to overlook them and wants to admit Jas to a regular school.
Kama, who is juggling her MMA career and taking care of her son, refuses to admit Jas might need to join a school for kids with special needs. She puts him in one such school for a trial period, but she is overwhelmed witnessing the amount of work other parents put into taking care of their children who are differently abled. Kama blames herself for Jas’ condition. She was raised by a tough father who instilled the importance of physical strength in her. She wants the same for Jas, but life clearly had other plans as she began to finally see her son needed help.
Ula
Barbara Wypych is Ula, a social media influencer and a married woman with three children. Her second daughter, Tola, has Down syndrome, and she is in the same school as Jas. Jas and Tol became fast friends, to Kama’s annoyance, as she did not want this in the middle of her planning to move her son to another school. Ula has immense knowledge about children with special needs because of her daughter, is more in tune with her present condition and goes out of her way to be there for Tola and other children from the class. She is married to a rich businessman and uses her money and influence to get parents all the help they need, which includes opening the house up to the parents at the school and their kids. Ula tries to make Kama understand the importance of accepting the child’s condition, as that would make life easier from that point on. She tries to be Kama’s friend, but they get off to a rocky start, which puts Ula on the backfoot many times. Ula, just like many around Kama, points out the symptoms and signs of Jas being on the spectrum.
Tatiana
Magdalena Różczka portrays the role of Tatiana, whose son Michal is in a wheelchair due to his condition, muscular dystrophy. Tatiana works as a courier company driver, yet she spends most of Michal’s school hours with him in case he needs to use the washroom. Tatiana is a middle-class wife who is also juggling between her work and taking care of her son, which has drastically affected her marriage with her husband, who works as a contractor. Michal and Tatiana are bonded, as she spends every living minute taking care of his needs right from the point he wakes up to his sleeping time. She is also aware her husband wants to talk to her, but Michael takes most of her day, and she hardly gets any time to visit the salon to groom herself. Tatiana is expected to make everything right, but sadly has to make do without the emotional and physical support of her husband, who is insensitive.
Jerzy
John Griffin is Jerzy, a single father and the only caregiver to his daughter Hela. Hela is also on the spectrum, and just like the other parents, he is always on the edge because Hela is not easy to take care of. Jerzy is exhausted most of the time, but he does not plan to ever give up on Hela like her mother did, as stated by him. Jerzy is not a young father, and his overbearing, insensitive mother hardly offers any help to take care of Hela, who is a handful. As a result, he experiences panic attacks frequently. Jerzy has a tough time since Hela is always agitated because of her condition.
Jasiek
Jan Lubas, the child actor, portrays the role of Jasiek, aka Jas, the only son of Kama with her ex-husband Mak. Jas is an agitated kid, and his school before he joined Wonderful Harbour had pointed out that he might be on the spectrum. As a child, he is not aware of how to perceive things around himself. His mother, Kama, constantly tries to tell him that he is absolutely normal. Jas is quick to make friends with Tola in the new school; he feels heard and not mocked. Jas is attached to his mother and goes nowhere without her.
Michal
Maksymilian Mlodawski portrays the role of Micahl, Tatiana’s only son. He suffers from muscular dystrophy, which has affected his ability to move from the neck below. He is in a wheelchair all the time and needs to be taken care of by his mother all the time. Michal’s physical condition has not affected his intellectual capabilities, as he is considered the smartest kid in the class and scores good grades. He makes jokes with his mother about his condition and wants her to let him be and not mollycoddle him. He is a good kid who gets along with the rest of his classmates even though they are intellectually far behind him.
Maks and Iwona
Maciej Miszczak as Maks and Kamila Bujalska as Iwona are a married couple. Maks was married to Kama and is Jas’s father. He and Iwona mention it many times before the school psychologist let Kama know Jas might be on the spectrum. Iwona is a kindergarten teacher, and because of that, she is able to notice if any child shows signs of autism. Iwona and Maks take care of Jas as part of co-parenting. Also, since Kama travels a lot because of her MMA gigs, Maks takes care of Jas. Maks and Iwona are good caregivers, and just like other parents in the school, they go out of their way to help her see the reality about Jas and want her to accept it instead of forcing Jas to be someone else.
