Netflix might describe its 2024 limited series The Man with 1000 Kids as a “docuseries.” But this nightmare of a story is best understood as “true crime” or even “horror.”

A glance at the Jonathan Meijer case

The limited series follows the unbelievable story of Dutch serial sperm donor, Jonathan Meijer. The documentary begins by giving viewers a glimpse at a handful of the hundreds of families he “helped,” including multiple lesbian couples, a single woman, and a straight married couple. 

The show starts off by portraying the joy these people felt in finding a sperm donor whom they liked and trusted. Slowly, however, the episodes progressively reveal the disgusting truth: There are far more of these happy mothers than any one of them ever imagined.

Meijer had promised each of them he only intended to father four or five children.

In fact, he may be the father of thousands.

Meijer, it turns out, had donated his sperm to hundreds of sperm banks around the globe, both under his name and aliases. He even began to source his sperm exclusively — to women who wanted a more “private” donation, even sleeping with a few of them on request.

A dawning horror

Most of the couples interviewed for the show live in the Netherlands, where Meijer initially made most of his donations. For one mother, the horror of the situation began when she realized multiple other women in her own inner circle had also used Meijer’s sperm, proving his pledge that he would only “help” five families to be false.

The couples obviously became scared of the future possibility of unintentionally incestuous relationships between their children. That’s when one mother created a Facebook group for families who had used Meijer as a donor to exchange information. Within weeks, photos of the hundreds of half-siblings, all fathered by Meijer, were posted from around the world.

As if the story couldn’t get more disturbing, women came forward who had been coerced by Meijer to conceive with him the “natural” way. The docuseries reveals the very real horrors of sperm donations, and the incredible lack of regulation within the multi-billion-dollar, global industry.

The story unfolds as the women work together alongside American fertility fraud activist Eve Wiley, to push for greater regulations and a stop to Meijer’s donating. While the show’s purpose is to reveal Meijer’s history, it is also a tale of power and narcissism as Meijer tries to play God through his revolting acts. 

The real risks of fertility donations

The Meijer story is undoubtedly disturbing. Mothers (and even some adoptive fathers) casually compare online sperm donation selection to choosing an ice cream flavor. 

They remember vetting a quick self-description of a man, who provided no concrete proof that his profile was accurate or that the sperm was even his. Many of the women even had to perform a paternity test down the line, after rumors circulated that Meijer was often providing other men’s sperm. 

Towards the end of the series, the women all join together to meet and allow their children, who are in fact half-siblings, to gather and play. One of the mothers jokes that they all feel like “sister wives” in the strange situation they are in. While everyone laughs on screen, the comment is jarring since there are in fact hundreds of women whose children share the same biological father.  

The women share how some of their own children were attracted to one another before they knew they were siblings. Genetics are more powerful than many of us imagine, and Meijer’s children recognized a “likeness” in each other. If children do not know they are biologically related, these kinds of connections can be misconstrued as a romantic — akin to recognizing a “soulmate” rather than a brother or sister.

One of the mothers even explains how she has taught her maturing child to always ask potential dates if they are also the product of a sperm donor. Needless to say, these are questions no young person should be forced to ask. 

But Jonathan Meijer’s children must.

The series reveals the sad truth that in today’s society, while children are one of our most innocent and vulnerable groups, they are often commodified and as a result victimized even by those who love them most and pay a high price to bring them into existence.

Worth a watch?

The docuseries itself is very well done and an easy binge. The horror of the story sucks you right in, and the directors make the most of a creeping feeling of dread as the mothers slowly realize what Meijer has done. 

The episodes travel through multiple countries, families, and the potentially 3,000 children involved in the Meijer case. It is worth the time to watch and learn more about the corrupt industry of fertility donations and the vulnerable children it has affected.

We can only hope that in this case sunlight is the best disinfectant.