“When does a person truly begin to be a person?” It sounds like a simple question — but the answer is anything but. Becoming You, a six-part documentary series on Apple TV+, takes this question seriously and gently walks us through it. The series follows the first 2,000 days — from birth to age five — in the lives of 100 children from around the world. What we get in return is not just information, but reflection. You find yourself thinking about your own childhood, your children, or the parts of you that never really got to grow up.
The narration comes from Academy Award–winner Olivia Colman, whose voice brings a softness and emotional weight to the story. Sometimes, it’s just a sentence or two — but paired with the imagery, it lingers.
What sets Becoming You apart from traditional child development documentaries is its tone. It doesn’t lecture. It doesn’t reduce kids to cuteness. Here, children are shown as full people — thinking, wondering, fearing, inventing, loving. In them, we witness the earliest forms of everything we later call “being human.”
Culture May Vary, But Humanity Doesn’t
The documentary showcases children from vastly different places: a mountain village in Nepal, the streets of Tokyo, the deserts of Morocco, suburban America. And this global perspective does more than just look good on screen — it reveals a beautiful truth: children everywhere are, essentially, children. Their surroundings may shape them differently, but the way they bond, explore, imitate, and create is universally human.
Each episode centers on a theme — learning to talk, to walk, to connect, to belong, to feel like oneself. And one of the most striking takeaways is just how early these processes begin. An 18-month-old child shows a strong instinct to help. A two-year-old stands up for what they think is fair. Human nature begins much earlier than we often assume.
Why You Should Watch
If you’re a parent, Becoming You is more than informative — it’s grounding. It reminds you that in every moment with your child, something meaningful is happening, even if it looks ordinary. And if you’re not a parent? You should still watch it. Because understanding how we become who we are is everyone’s business.
Becoming You is also a goldmine for educators, designers, psychologists, storytellers — anyone who works with or thinks deeply about people. Questions like “How does empathy emerge?”, “When does learning begin?”, or “How do we build trust?” are gently explored through real, observable lives.
Visually, the series is calm, simple, and respectful. No overdramatization. Music is present, but restrained. The camera keeps its distance but never loses warmth. It’s crafted with intention — like a parent who knows when to step back.
Becoming You doesn’t just say “children are our future.” It says: children are already part of the now. They’re small, yes — but they’re here, and they matter. To understand them is to understand ourselves.
