The Man with 1000 Kids: a documentary to 'chill the blood'
Netflix's 'fascinating' three-part show explores the sinister story of a serial sperm donor

In a scene from Netflix's new "stranger-than-fiction" documentary "The Man with 1000 Kids", a woman explains why she chose Jonathan Jacob Meijer as her sperm donor, pointing out his thick curly hair, bright blue eyes and good teeth. "It sounded like she was judging at Crufts", said Anita Singh in The Telegraph.
The mysterious Dutchman at the centre of the show made it his life's work to travel the world donating sperm privately and to as many clinics as possible. When he "finally wound up in court" he confessed to fathering almost 600 children. The real number could be as high as 3,000.
Most of the women were given a sperm sample but he also offered to impregnate women the "natural way". "Some of them said yes," said Singh. The documentary is told from the point of view of just a handful of the parents who were "duped" by Meijer (he told them he had only fathered up to 10 other children).
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Over the course of the three-part series, said Lucy Mangan in The Guardian, we follow the women's stories from the "initial joy" of discovering they are pregnant to the "unravelling of the horror" as it emerges Meijer is not who he seems, and the eventual court case brought against him.
A story to "chill the blood", it's a "cautionary tale about the perils of the modern age", said Vicky Jessop in the London Evening Standard. As scores of children fathered by Meijer start "popping up" across the Netherlands and abroad, the women begin to confront their sperm donor – only to be met with a hostile response.
The word "incest" is used a "staggering number of times" (unwitting incest among the siblings is one of the biggest issues) and stock footage of syringes, scans and crying babies flash on to the screen repeatedly as if the show is "trying to pound it into our eyeballs".
While it's "undoubtedly fascinating viewing albeit in a very grim way", we never hear from Meijer (he refuses to comment for the documentary), which leaves the show feeling like there's a "void at its heart".
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
"I think we could all do without the reconstruction scenes of a long-haired actor playing Meijer simulating masturbation into a small cup," said Carol Midgley in The Times.
But it is an oddly intriguing story about a man "so blinded by self-love" that he seemed to have convinced himself he was "doing the world a favour".
Irenie Forshaw is a features writer at The Week, covering arts, culture and travel. She began her career in journalism at Leeds University, where she wrote for the student newspaper, The Gryphon, before working at The Guardian and The New Statesman Group. Irenie then became a senior writer at Elite Traveler, where she oversaw The Experts column.
-
Quiz of The Week: 23 – 29 August
Quiz Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
-
The Week Unwrapped: Could robotic dogs help clear landmines?
Podcast Plus, what can we learn from a new approach to urban renewal? And how much power rests with political spouses?
-
Six major costs to cut as children go back to school
School supplies can be pricey but there are ways to keep costs down
-
Say farewell to summer at these underrated US lakes
The Week Recommends Have one last blast
-
5 of the best platonic TV friendships
the week recommends Maintaining boundaries has proven tricky for all but the most committed of buddies on the small screen
-
A guide to the Great Wall of China
The Week Recommends Experience this architectural feat
-
8 hotels with ace tennis courts
The Week Recommends Bring your A game
-
The 5 best zombie movies of all time
The Week Recommends Ghouls feasting on flesh have been a staple of cinema for more than 50 years
-
7 travel fragrances that let you smell good on the go
The Week Recommends Spritz away!
-
A guide to Budapest's healing thermal baths
The Week Recommends There's a reason why it's called the City of Spas
-
Every MCU movie since 'Avengers: Endgame,' ranked
The Week Recommends How did the recent 'Fantastic Four: First Steps' stack up?