Second series of Polish Netflix hit "Matki pingwinów" arrives on 21 October

The second series of "Matki pingwinów" (Penguin Mothers) will launch on Netflix on 21 October 2026. The show, about parents of children with disabilities and neurodivergent children, is one of the platform's most talked-about Polish productions in recent years. According to Onet Kultura, it stayed in Netflix's Polish Top 10 for seven weeks.

What the new series is about

The story begins a year and a half after the events of the first series. Kama, Ula, Tatiana and Jerzy set up their own school for their children, called Biegun Szczęścia (Pole of Happiness). The trailer suggests that this dream will quickly turn into a source of trouble: the characters face bureaucracy, money worries and growing exhaustion.

The creators want to shift the focus from coming to terms with a diagnosis to how life with a neurodivergent or disabled child affects the whole family. Director and creator Klara Kochańska-Bajon highlights relationships with siblings, grandparents, peers and partners. The series aims to show that a parent accepting their new situation does not mean those around them will accept it as easily.

New storylines include the children entering adolescence and the "invisible child" phenomenon, where the sibling of a disabled person feels overlooked. Tatiana confronts her fear of her son growing up, while Ula, as head of the school, is determined to build a perfect institution, even as problems mount behind the tidy façade. The creator points to Ula's transformation as one of the most surprising elements of the new episodes.

Cast and length

Masza Wągrocka (Kama), Barbara Wypych (Ula), Magdalena Różczka (Tatiana) and Tomasz Tyndyk (Jerzy) return in the main roles. The second series will have six episodes.

What this means for Poles in the UK

Netflix is available in the UK, so the series can be watched here too. The sources do not give details of language versions or subtitles in the UK, so it is worth checking in the app.