All Her Fault depicts every parent's worst nightmare. This is the experience that inspired it.

A new limited series on Binge is set to stir up all sorts of conversations about being a mum in 2025.

The series All Her Fault is an adaptation of the 2021 bestselling thriller novel by Irish author Andrea Mara.

The plot centres on Marissa Irvine, a wealthy working mother who arrives at a suburban home to pick up her five-year-old son, Milo, from his first playdate, only to find the woman who answers the door has never heard of her, her son, or the playdate's host, Jenny.

Milo is gone, kicking off a frantic missing child investigation into a kidnapping that makes national headlines. It is literally every parent's worst nightmare.

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The series features a cast of acting powerhouses. Succession's Sarah Snook leads as the desperate mother Marissa, joined by The Perfect Couple's Dakota Fanning as Jenny, the mother who arranged the playdate, and The White Lotus actor Jake Lacy as Marissa's husband, Peter.

The cast also includes Michael Peña as Detective Alcaras and Sophia Lillis as the mysterious nanny, Carrie Finch.

The eight-episode series uncovers shocking family secrets and has nonstop twists and turns. All Her Fault has received a strong critical reception, with plenty of critics praising the performances and social commentary on the pressures of modern motherhood.

With a story that's already resonated with so many women, it got us wondering: is this based on a true story? The answer is complicated.

The true story that inspired Sarah Snook's series All Her Fault.

The idea for the story was based on a fleeting moment that the book's author, Andrea Mara, experienced with her daughter.

Mara, who also serves as an associate producer for the series, shared the real-life incident that inspired her novel's plot during a video in June 2021.

The inspiration came from an April 2015 event where she went to pick up her daughter after a playdate, only to arrive at a completely empty house.

The author recounted the brief but intense moment. "The panic only lasted for a few seconds, until a neighbour told me that the family had moved house a few weeks earlier and I was just working off an old address list," she said.

"It all ended very quickly, much more quickly than it does for Marissa in the book."

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In a July 2021 essay published by The Irish Independent, Mara elaborated on the moment, admitting that after repeated attempts to get an answer at the door, she started to imagine an "elaborate kidnap plan."

To be clear: none of this happened in real life, but the thought would inspire the events of All Her Fault.

Even though Mara was reunited with her daughter less than five minutes later, this panicked moment prompted her to reflect on the confidence parents must place in others regarding their children — whether for school, daycare or social gatherings.

This experience led her to question "How do we decide what's safe and not safe, when it comes to our kids?" the author wrote. Mara started to ponder "how much trust we place in other people when it comes to our kids; when we send them off to school and crèche and playdates and parties."

And with that, All Her Fault started to take form. The author has sold one million copies of her novels worldwide.

Every episode of All Her Fault can be streamed on Binge.

Feature image: Binge.