Aahana Swrup
Netflix’s ‘The Surrogacy’ is a Mexican drama soap opera series created by Araceli Guajardo that follows the life of a surrogate mother. Originally titled ‘Madre de Alquiler,’ the show features performances by successful industry expert Leticia Calderón, alongside lead actress Shani Lozano in her debut. The show revolves around Yeni, who enters into an agreement with an affluent Mexican business family and rents her womb in order to save her father’s life. However, after giving birth to a baby with a physical disability, Yeni finds herself pushed into a world of lies and deceit while trying to uncover the truth.
The show follows the struggles Yeni faces as a woman from a modest background against a wealthy, influential family. By doing so, it presents a commentary on social issues like privilege, inequality, and power imbalance. At the same time, as a side-effect of its genre, the narrative focuses on the interpersonal relationships between the characters. Due to the same, viewers might wonder about the show’s authenticity. If so, here is everything we know about ‘The Surrogacy’ and its relationship to reality.
The Surrogacy is Not a True Story
‘The Surrogacy’ is not based on a true story. Written by creator Araceli Guajardo, the show depicts a fictional story with fictional characters and events. Following Yeni’s unpleasant experience with surrogacy, the show adds dramatic flairs and twists to plausible situations in order to keep the audience engaged and entertained. Nevertheless, it also strives to make an observation about the wealth disparity that leads to unfair power imbalances between people in real life. Moreover, it also shines a light on largely unexplored stories about surrogate pregnancies.
Likewise, the show delves into individuals’ experiences with birth defects, primarily the congenital condition, Talipes Equinovarus, often referred to as Clubfoot. It’s a disability caused by issues concerning the baby’s tendons. The condition materializes as the baby’s foot turns inward, causing the foot to twist. According to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, Clubfoot is the most common Muscle/Bone birth defect found among babies in the United States.
Statistically, in the U.S., the condition presents itself in 1 in every 593 births, affecting almost 6,643 babies. Likewise, according to Miracle Feet, a global non-profit organization, 9.75 million people alive today were born with Clubfoot. As such, through depicting a story about the condition, ‘The Surrogacy’ aims to provide awareness and representation about the same in media.
Similarly, the show also features plotlines and character arcs that heavily explore the social dynamics between the characters. By pitching Yeni against a powerful business family, the narrative affords itself room to explore class inequality and the fallout caused by privilege left unchecked. Additionally, Yeni’s character faces colorist obstacles as a Mexican woman. Throughout the story, Yeni undergoes a transformative journey of self-discovery, albeit one filled with messy complications.
Several other media has also tried to depict the process of surrogacy through a nuanced societal lens. 2021’s Hindi film, ‘Mimi,’ directed by Laxman Utekar, also revolves around a similar story. The film explores the intricacies of a surrogate mother’s experience in relation to society. It also lightly touches upon the topic of birth defects.
On the other hand, the relationship dynamics between different characters also significantly contribute to the viewers’ engagement in the story. Creator/Writer Guajardo has previously worked on numerous well-liked Mexican telenovela/ drama shows, like ‘I Don’t Trust Men Anymore’ and ‘Las Tontas no Van al Cielo.’ Therefore, Guajardo has years of experience in telling compelling stories within this genre that resonates with her audience.
Ultimately, ‘The Surrogacy’ is not based on a true story. The show features fictional characters going through fictional storylines. Like every contemporary piece of media, the show finds reference for many plot elements in real life. Nevertheless, it doesn’t directly take inspiration for its setting, plot, or characters from any real-life event. Through enjoyable characters and an engaging plotline that serves as a commentary on several social issues, ‘The Surrogacy’ delivers a fictional but compelling story.
Read More: Where is Netflix’s The Surrogacy Filmed?
