Credit: Netflix

Parenthood is demanding enough without a mother getting accused of bank robbery, but Netflix has decided that Cameron Diaz deserves precisely that predicament in its upcoming comedy Bad Day. All the woman wants is to attend her daughter’s football match. One perfectly reasonable promise, and it only takes her minutes before she’s embroiled in a criminal investigation.

Hollywood spares no expense when it comes to sending men across continents on perilous missions, celebrating their heroism when they return with some stolen briefcase. Meanwhile, Cameron Diaz can’t even make it to her daughter’s football match without becoming a person of interest. Give the woman a break! She’s attempting to fulfil a parental obligation, not audition for the next Mission: Impossible.

Then again, Diaz has always had a remarkable gift for turning humiliation into comedy. There’s Something About Mary and Bad Teacher are proof enough. She can find humour in the most mortifying situations without making her characters unbearable.

And after Back in Action marked her return from a decade-long acting hiatus, Netflix is all set to put that talent to good use.

What is Netflix’s Bad Day about?

Diaz plays Joy, who just wants to keep a promise to her daughter, and honestly, the universe seems to have declined that request, even looking at the paperwork. Joy is a single mother who’s hell-bent on making it to her little girl’s football match. In comes the Bad Day.

First, her car gets towed. Then there is her father’s dialysis appointment to sort out. And as if she hasn’t got enough on her plate, a visit to the bank gets her in trouble with the law. Oh, for heaven’s sake! The woman’s trying to make it to a football match, and now she’s got the police to worry about.

Netflix calls it a “mom-com”, which, fair enough, seems about right when a simple parenting commitment turns into a potential criminal case.

Who is in the cast?

Well, look who’s joining the family drama! Modern Family favourite Ed O’Neill plays Joy’s father. Yep, Jay Pritchett himself!

Danielle Brooks and John Higgins play police officers, so Joy’s little adventure is going to keep them busy. Rhenzy Feliz joins as her friend, while Ben Schwartz and Mark Duplass are also part of the cast. You’ll also see Retta, Jessica Belkin and Emma Pearson.

And behind the camera, Jury Duty director Jake Szymanski is calling the shots from a screenplay by Laura Solon.

When is Bad Day coming to Netflix?

Mark December 11th on your calendar, because that’s when Bad Day arrives on Netflix.

And what lovely timing, just as everyone’s getting caught up in the Christmas rush! Netflix is giving us a mother whose attempt to fulfil one family commitment could land her behind bars.