ReviewNetflix drama review: Mom, Don’t Do That! – Billie Wang, Alyssa Chia lead Taiwanese story about grief, loss and dating

This comedy drama follows a Taiwanese widow and her two daughters as they navigate the rocky world of dating and relationships

The series is about filling a void, and tells the story with sincerity, punctuated with crazy antics and dramatic moments

3-MIN READ3-MIN

Netflix series Mom, Don’t Do That! follows a Taiwanese widow and her two daughters. Alyssa Chia (above) in a still from the series. Photo: Netflix

Published: 9:45am, 15 Jul 2022

3/5 stars

Family is both a comfort and a curse for the three women at the centre of Mom, Don’t Do That!, a new Taiwanese series adapted from a novel by Chen Ming-min.

Inspired by true events, the 11-episode comedy drama follows a 60-year-old widow and her two adult daughters through the fallout of losing their patriarch. While frequently spiralling into madcap antics, the show is strongest during its dramatic moments, dealing with grief, loss, and the importance of getting back on your feet.

Alyssa Chia Jing-wen (The Falls) plays Ru-rong, the most level-headed family member and likely surrogate for the show’s creators. Forty years old and still living at home, Ru-rong is a source of constant shame for her overbearing mother, Mei-mei (Billie Wang), who berates her daughter for not finding a man to marry.

Ru-rong is a successful author with a string of popular romance novels to her name, but this has not helped her own love life. Her own priorities are frequently eclipsed by the needs of her wayward mother.