Skip to content
VERSE OF THE DAY “Let the little children come to me.” Matthew 19:14
Give
← All Reviews
WHERE TO WATCH
MOVIE REVIEW

HEARTLAND: Baby on Board

A new baby, an old wound, and a family that heals it together.

2017TV-PG43 minutesUPtvDrama
Worth watching.
ENTERTAINMENT QUALITY ★★★★ 4 / 4 Beautifully filmed, well-acted, genuinely moving.
FAMILY CONTENT Family +1 on the +4 to −4 scale Wholesome viewing for every age, with a strong Christian, moral worldview and nothing to object to.
CONTENT LEVELS NONE → HEAVY
Language None
Violence Light
Sex None
Nudity None
BEST FOR Families watching together, and anyone who loves the uplifting feel of classic shows like Little House on the Prairie or Touched by an Angel.
NOT FOR No one in particular — this episode is safe and rewarding for the whole family.
CONTENT IN ONE LINE Nothing beyond a non-graphic car accident and a brief, rebuked mention of a "pill problem."
SHARE f 𝕏

Should You Watch It?

New parenthood has a way of exposing old wounds, and that's exactly what happens here. Ty and Amy welcome baby Lindy, and Ty responds by trusting a phone app over three generations of hard-won family wisdom — a choice that isolates him from the people who love him and stresses out his exhausted wife. Underneath his stubbornness is something deeper: unresolved pain from his own childhood, surfacing the moment his mother arrives to help.

What makes this episode worth your time is how gently it handles all of it. Grandfather Jack doesn't lecture Ty into humility; he walks him there with patience. The show trusts family, honesty, and hard work to do the work drama usually hands to conflict for conflict's sake — and it's filmed gorgeously against the Alberta mountains, with horse work that will delight both casual viewers and lifelong equestrians.

There's nothing here to steer a family away from. Watch it together.

The Story

NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISES

Heartland Ranch welcomes its newest member: baby Lindy, the fourth generation to be born into this family. New father Ty decides he knows better than the three generations before him, leaning on a parenting app instead of the people around him — and the tension that creates reaches further back than anyone expected. Meanwhile, exhausted new mom Amy takes in Ty's mother to help with the baby, and back at the ranch, a business deal threatens to fall apart without Jack's steady hand.

Is It Any Good?

Four stars means this episode does everything a family drama should do, and does it well. The filming makes the most of Alberta's sprawling plains and mountain backdrop, the horse stunts are a genuine pleasure for horse lovers of any experience level, and the writing keeps multiple storylines — new parenthood, an old wound between mother and son, a ranch business crisis — moving without ever feeling crowded. The acting carries real weight, especially in the quieter scenes between Ty and his mother.

It's the kind of episode that earns its uplift instead of manufacturing it: the emotional payoff comes from honest struggle, not shortcuts. Excellent craft, applied to a story worth telling.

The Worldview

This episode's worldview is about as clear as they come: family matters, patience heals, honesty and hard work build character, and no one is too far gone to grow. Ty's insistence on doing everything "his way" isn't treated as strength — it's revealed as insecurity, and the show lets Grandfather Jack model the better path: steady presence instead of control, understanding instead of judgment. Even the ranch's business subplot echoes the same lesson, as pride and inexperience nearly cost Tim and Mitch a deal until Jack steps in.

Nothing here works against a biblical view of family. Honoring parents, extending patience to a struggling spouse, forgiving old hurts before they calcify into bitterness — these are the show's actual concerns, dressed up in ranch drama and horse stunts. The episode doesn't preach; it simply lets a family practice grace toward each other, generation to generation.

That's the ache this episode names well: we long to be understood by the people who raised us, and to raise our own children without repeating their mistakes. Scripture speaks directly into that longing — "forgiving each other; even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye" (Colossians 3:13, KJV).

Movieguide® worldview codes: CCC, BBB, V, A, DD — preserved for our database, awards research and the annual Report to the Entertainment Industry. What the codes mean →

The Content Guide

The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements

Very strong Christian, moral worldview stresses the importance of family, supportive friendships, patience, respect for others, kindness, honesty, hard work, good psychology, overcoming weaknesses, and integrity

Foul Language

No foul lan-guage

Violence

Non-graphic car accident where a horse is traumatized

Sex

No sex

Nudity

No nudity

Alcohol Use

No alcohol use, but there’s talk about rehab, and abuse of alcohol is rebuked

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse

Drug use briefly men-tioned as a “pill problem” and is rebuked;

Miscellaneous Immorality

Nothing else objectionable.

Talk About It

Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.

01

Ty trusts an app over the people who love him and have raised children before. When has pride kept you from accepting help you actually needed?

Proverbs 3:5-6
02

Becoming a parent brings up old wounds for Ty involving his own mother. What does it look like to forgive a parent for past hurt while still setting healthy boundaries?

Colossians 3:13 · Exodus 20:12
03

Jack helps Ty without lecturing him — he's patient instead of pushy. Who in your life has shown you that kind of patience, and how did it change you?

1 Corinthians 13:4
04

Tim and Mitch nearly lose a business deal because neither will yield to the other. Where does pride cost us most in your own family or work life?

Philippians 2:3

The Final Word

Heartland keeps doing what it's always done best: telling honest family stories without ever losing its warmth or its values. "Baby on Board" earns its uplift through patience, humility, and grace between generations — and there's nothing here to make a parent hesitate. Worth watching.

THE VERDICT Worth watching.
WHERE TO WATCH

More Movies Like This

Browse All Reviews →