"Pretty authentic and honest look": Dianne Kruger explains how she was a part of Little Disasters' portrayal of motherhood and its "challenges"

Little Disasters may be glossy on the surface, but beneath all that gossip lies an unpolished look at the chaos that comes along with motherhood. And according to Diane Kruger, that grit was the very point of the show.

In a conversation with TV Insider, Kruger says she welcomed the chance to enter uncomfortable territory. She explained -

“I thought it was a pretty authentic and honest look at the darkness that can be for some women.”

She also described motherhood as an arena filled with pressure, guilt, fear, and fierce love. The show’s refusal to sugarcoat it hooked her.

Kruger plays Jess, who is one of four longtime friends pulled into crisis after a shocking event. But while the show simmers with mystery, it’s the emotions that make Kruger proudest. As she puts it, Little Disasters adds to a long-overdue conversation about the expectations piled on mothers.

Diane Kruger helped shape Little Disasters

Kruger says Little Disasters actually helped her as she:

“Got the opportunity to explore some of the challenges that motherhood brings.”

And that meant she could lean into scenes that many new parents understand all too well. We are talking about those spiraling worst-case fears and guilt. Some moments were more draining than others. She recalls filming a sequence about losing her daughter, but then had to jump into a bright picnic scene a few hours later because shoot schedules are ruthless, you see?

She admitted:

“You hold a lot of tension because the character is always tense.”

But while it was exhausting, it was therapeutic to be able to confront those fears on camera, she says, which let her:

“Lean into [them] and let it out.”

Filming was also isolating at times. Being the only American on set left her feeling like an “outsider,” though she noted that the cast was supportive. Her relief was going home to her real-life daughter, her “beacon of light.”

We also have to remember that the series adapts Sarah Vaughan’s novel; there are some changes, too. And Kruger embraced them, especially the decision to avoid sensationalism around themes like perinatal OCD. It was better to commit to the emotional truths than copy-paste plot points.

The plot of Little Disasters gives motherhood an outlet

Both Kruger and Vaughan note how rare it is for TV to address the “darkest reaches of motherhood” without judgment. Kruger was shocked to read the scripts that disclosed Jess’s intrusive fears and the spirals women endure.

She says:

“It’s got to be so debilitating.”

On the show, we see that Jess is scared of her own sanity. The series makes space for those emotions without punishing her for them.

That honesty also extends to the friendships on Little Disasters. Vaughan explained that the social-worker interview was designed to expose the judgments friends make about each other, though they’d never say aloud. It also allowed Jess to verbalize a topic most mothers are taught to hide.

Diane Kruger believes Little Disasters challenges the culture of modern motherhood as it shows us that good people can do bad things.

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Little Disasters is now on Paramount+.

MORE ON THE SHOW: Cast and characters | Viewer's guide | Release schedule

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