Mr. Bean Vibes Return: Rowan Atkinson Battles Fatherhood In Netflix’s Man Vs. Baby

Rowan Atkinson is back on Netflix this Christmas with a sequel to Man Vs. Bee. This time the insect is gone, the chaos stays, and the title says it all: Man Vs. Baby.

The essentials

• Title: Man Vs. Baby, a sequel to 2022's Man Vs. Bee
• Premiere: December 11, 2025 on Netflix (first announced back in December 2024; Netflix just firmed up the date)
• Format: 4 episodes, about 30 minutes each
• Star: Rowan Atkinson returns as Trevor Bingley
• Setup: Trevor is looking after a luxury London penthouse and, surprise, a baby he did not sign up to supervise
• Cast: Full lineup still under wraps; Alanah Bloor plays Trevor's daughter, Maddy
• Creative team: Written by Will Davies and Rowan Atkinson; David Kerr returns to direct the entire run
• Catching up: Man Vs. Bee ran for 9 episodes, pulled mixed-to-positive reviews, and sits at a 74% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes

So what is Man Vs. Baby actually about?

Think Man Vs. Bee's high-tech home headaches, but traded up to a plush London penthouse and swapped the buzzing menace for a much louder, needier challenge. Trevor Bingley, still a magnet for well-meaning disaster, is juggling caretaking duties for both a premium property and an unexpected infant. If you watched him take on a sentient nuisance with wings, you know the tone: elaborate physical comedy meets escalating mayhem, only now with diapers.

Same brains behind the slapstick

Netflix kept the original team intact, which is smart if the goal is to serve the exact flavor of chaos fans signed up for. Atkinson co-wrote again with Will Davies, and David Kerr is back in the director's chair for all four episodes. Continuity like that usually means the gags land the way they did the first time, just with a new problem to obsess over.

Quick rewind on Man Vs. Bee

The 2022 series was a tidy binge: nine short episodes about a catastrophically focused house sitter at war with one bee in a smart home that outsmarted him. Critics were mostly into it (74% on Rotten Tomatoes), and it doubled down on what Atkinson does best: visual comedy, minimal dialogue, maximum mess.

Atkinson on why his characters spiral so well

"They tend to be a sort of singular, slightly isolated characters."

"I'm writing on the basis of my own experience and what I find funny or difficult... We've all come across situations where you're trying to work out: 'How does this toilet flush? Is it that you press the button or you just wave your hand? Or do you just walk out the door and it flushes when you leave?'"

From a 2022 Netflix chat, Atkinson also made it clear Trevor is a touch less cut off from the world than his other creations. He has a life, a family, and decent intentions. The problem is his obsessiveness. That fault line is what makes his pratfalls feel specific instead of random.

Bottom line

Man Vs. Baby hits Netflix on December 11, 2025. If you need a refresher (or just want to watch a grown man lose to a bee), Man Vs. Bee is streaming now.