By many of the documentaries I watch on Netflix, the overall theme of these shows are: learn as much as I can! The best shows that I have seen on Netflix, be it film or TV series, are historical fiction based on real people in history with a bit of fictional additions. My new favorite TV series on Netflix was the historical fiction series “Call the Midwife.”

“Call the Midwife” is based in 1950s era London of four midwives living in a nunnery who are all nurses and help deliver children in impoverished homes. Jenny Lee is the main character of the series, yet many of the supporting midwives and nuns get large portions of the plot. Every episode is not just a birth of a baby, even though lots of those happen, but the series showcases what life was like in London in the 1950s and the medical treatment that patients received. The personal lives of the nuns and moreso the midwives were a part of the plot, but not to a great extent which really kept this show true to its core.

Overall, I really enjoyed all of the characters of the series and there was no one character that I disliked, which is very uncommon for me in a series (I usually hate someone, haha). The nuns as a group of ladies really added to the show. They gave it spunk, attitude, and a uniqueness that no other show really had. Specifically, I really enjoyed watching Chummie’s character development. In her first episode she learned how to ride a bicycle, then went on a date with a police officer, gets married, has a child, and buries her mother. Her character went from a weak woman who escaped her mother’s power clutch and began a family of her own and was quite independent. Overall, the women were exceptionally strong-willed and added substantially to the show’s plot.

This may be weird but the only thing I didn’t like about the show was the birth scenes. Don’t get me wrong, they were so gory, bloody, and had real babies that it was really quite amazing. However, watching every episode of screaming women and having to turn the volume up to hear the conversations and down to quiet the woman’s screams was a little much. Obviously, the show is called “Call the Midwife” so I knew what I was getting into, but in it being so real I finally know was nurses in labor and delivery must feel like every day at work.

I would highly recommend this series for anyone. It is extremely catered to females, and is pretty G-rated, even some of the characters don’t kiss on camera so there’s no weird sex stuff or anything that most American shows have in them nowadays. It also gives a good look at how people lived back then. And those poor women, no epidural, or pain relief. EEEK. Anyway, enjoy if you do watch it and let me know what you think!