Babies Are the Harvest in "Baby Farm"

EbonyLife Studios delivers a chilling tale of survival, deception, and the dark world of baby trafficking

Baby Farm is EbonyLife Studios’ latest production, now streaming on Netflix. If you’re wondering whether this is one of the good ones, I’ll spare you the suspense—it is.

The five-episode miniseries tells the chilling tale of The Evans Foundation, a baby factory disguised as an NGO. It is run by a white, power-hungry, money-insatiable couple—Dr. Oliver Evans and his wife, Barbara. While Oliver is the more overtly evil of the two, both are undoubtedly bestial. The den is situated in the heart of Lagos, where the proprietors frolic with the city’s elite, securing a de facto license to operate without regulation or government scrutiny for at least six years. Like a beast on a quota to devour, The Evans Foundation continuously swallows up unsuspecting victims with nowhere else to turn. But when Adanna crosses their path, a series of events unfold that set their downfall into motion.

Warning: This review contains spoilers.

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When we first meet Adanna, she’s a teenage girl in Aba, Abia State, in love with Obinna, a boy from her peer group. Their chemistry is undeniable—young love, full of raging hormones. Then Adanna drops a bombshell: she’s pregnant. No doubts, no confusion. You get the sense she’s taken multiple tests just to be sure. Obinna is taken aback but quickly reassures her. “It’s just bad timing,” he says. They’ll figure it out because their love is strong enough to weather any storm—or so they think.

But then, the worst happens. News of Adanna’s pregnancy spreads, and her family is furious. To make matters worse, Obinna’s mother sends him off to Lagos, far away from Adanna, whom she believes is trying to entrap her son. And just like that, Adanna finds herself on a bus to Lagos.

Lagos isn’t kind to Adanna. She struggles to find Obinna and, needing to make ends meet, secures a petty job and a makeshift accommodation, both of which she loses almost immediately. At this point, luck isn’t on her side. Enter The Evans Foundation, run by Barbara and her husband, Dr. Oliver Evans. They offer Adanna shelter—on the condition that she gives up her baby for adoption. No sugarcoating, no pretense. A baby in exchange for life’s basic provisions. Barbara is sweet to her, but business is business. Adanna has a choice to make.

Meanwhile, Rita Dominic’s character, Cherise, a famous international actress, is desperate for a baby. Her adoption attempts have failed, partly because of her husband’s criminal record in the UK. But she’s determined and willing to do anything, including making an under-the-table deal with Barbara to secure herself twins to call her own.

Adanna’s first day at The Foundation is a rude awakening. A heavily pregnant woman named Enem warns her to run, but Adanna doesn’t listen. That same day, Enem gives birth in distress, with Adanna as her only witness. Then, Adanna is drugged and gaslit into believing she imagined the horrors of what she saw. When she insists on leaving, she’s thrown into solitary confinement. The realization dawns: she’s a prisoner now. And her real ordeal is just beginning.

Cherise starts to unravel, too, breaking down on a film set and refusing to hand over a prop baby in a scene. Her obsession with motherhood is consuming her. Meanwhile, a journalist, played by Folu Storms, is investigating Cherise with a tenacity that suggests personal stakes. She teams up with Enem’s sister, who has been lurking outside the foundation’s premises, determined to find her sister and uncover whatever truth might be hiding in the shadows.

As Adanna plots multiple escape attempts, she faces brutal consequences. Her first attempt gets the non-pregnant girls punished on her behalf, earning her more resentment than sympathy. Then there’s a subplot involving trust and betrayal—who is really her friend? Ebun (played by Genoveva Umeh) is caught in the middle, while Itunu, who pretends to be an ally, turns out to be the real snake.

The first episode does an excellent job of setting up the characters, world-building, and establishing stakes. By Episode 2, you’re fully invested. The pacing is tight, and the story moves swiftly, never overstaying its welcome. The characters are well-developed, each with clear goals and motivations. The performances are stellar, with Onyinye Odokoro and Genoveva Umeh as standouts. And for once, we get white actors in a Nollywood production who can actually act—Jenny Stead (Dr. Barbara) and Langley Kirkwood (Dr. Evans) both deliver solid performances.

L-R: Ebun, Barbara, Adanna, and Dr. Evans

Baby Farm is a socially conscious series that shines a light on a harsh reality—baby trafficking, a vice too common yet too ignored. It also subtly critiques the privilege expatriates wield in Nigeria. How do foreigners come into this country and run dehumanizing businesses without fear of regulation, and even when caught, without facing due consequences? The Evans refer to the women as Makers—a chilling reminder of their only perceived value in this twisted operation. It echoes The Handmaid’s Tale in its dystopian horror.

The show also explores the ugly divide between the rich and powerful, who make inhumane demands, and the poor, who are forced to comply. It’s a grim reflection of the world we live in. And then, there’s the issue of justice. The Evans get away, even with damning evidence against them, because they had the foresight to buy their way out. It’s frustratingly realistic.

Poetic justice does come—but only for Dr. Evans, at the hands of his wife. But what about Barbara? Who serves her? That’s a question the show leaves lingering, and maybe that’s the most haunting part of all.

Baby Farm is currently streaming on Netflix.

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There’s a video review of the movie on YouTube, too. Click HERE to watch it.

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