Rowan Atkinson’s New Netflix Comedy Sends ‘Stranger Things’ to the Upside Down

Rowan Atkinson of Mr. Bean fame proves once again that he still has a chokehold on the cultural zeitgeist, as his new comedy series Man vs Baby is crushing the Netflix streaming charts. According to FlixPatrol, the show has claimed the #1 spot in 70+ countries, including the United States. That alone would be impressive, but the real shock is what other shows it has beaten. Stranger Things just delivered Netflix’s biggest English-language TV debut ever with Season 5 Vol. 1, and Vol. 2 is only days away. Still, Atkinson’s low-stakes holiday comedy is currently outranking it, which says everything about his staying power.

The new series serves as a sequel to 2022’s Man vs Bee. That show trapped Atkinson in a house-sitting gig where he waged an all-out war against a bee that refused to leave him alone. The follow-up series swaps the insect for a baby, and once again, Atkinson leans hard into Mr. Bean-style slapstick and exaggerated physical comedy. This time, he is tasked with babysitting during the festive season, and everything that can go wrong absolutely does.

Make no mistake, Man vs Baby is by no means a groundbreaking comedy like Succession or The Studio, and it is not trying to be. It delivers plenty of laughs, a bit of heart, and just the right amount of Atkinson-isms to appeal to fans of Mr. Bean looking for uncomplicated holiday entertainment. But once Stranger Things Season 5 Vol. 2 drops on Christmas Day, it will almost certainly climb back to the top of the charts. Still, landing at #1 during such a crowded release window is a win in itself for Atkinson.

‘Man vs Baby’ Director Confirms AI Was Used To Bring the Baby to Life

Viewers were quick to notice that the baby in the miniseries looks a little too polished at times, which raised questions about how the show pulled off certain scenes. Director David Kerr has since confirmed that the show used a mix of real babies, CGI, and machine learning. Identical twin babies were cast as the main on-screen infants. The team then captured detailed facial scans of the twins, and in some scenes, those faces were digitally placed onto another baby.

This was mostly done because child actor laws only allow babies to work for very short stretches each day. In other moments, CGI and AI were used to create specific reactions or movements without keeping a real infant on set longer than needed. While it is nowhere near Twilight baby levels of uncanny, it does look a bit off in a few shots. But it is a necessary sin that allows for some of the series’ funniest moments to exist; moments that simply wouldn’t be possible without this technology.

Man vs Baby is available to stream on Netflix. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.