Menopause: 50% of the population has or will experience it, but about the same percentage say they feel unprepared for it to happen. It is rarely shown on screen, and is even less often portrayed without a sweating, angry woman as the butt of the joke. But a new comedy series is ready to change all of that—and put the conversation about menopause at the forefront.

Jennifer Whalen first began experiencing menopause symptoms during the pandemic. “I couldn’t believe that I didn’t know anything about it, and that I was totally unprepared for it,” she says. “I realized that it was something that I really could use a laugh about.”

So, she reached out to Meredith MacNeill, her fellow co-creator and star of the wildly popular Baroness von Sketch Show. The goal? Make a show about menopause—one that is honest and relatable, but above all, hilarious. 

Small Achievable Goals follows Kris and Julie, two wildly different middle-aged women navigating the rollercoaster that is menopause. As they deal with office politics, relationship drama, and parenting dilemmas, they’re also experiencing hot flashes, heavy bleeding, and mood swings.

As MacNeill says: “It’s intense, it’s bloody and it’s horny.”

Viewers know and love Whalen and MacNeill from the critically acclaimed series Baroness von Sketch Show. The show was adored for its women-led, rapid-fire, and often daring comedic sketches, and won multiple awards during its run from 2016-2021, including 12 Canadian Screen Awards.

As creators and stars of Small Achievable Goals, Whalen and MacNeill hope to channel some of that Baroness magic and continue looking at tough issues through a comedic lens. “We wanted to keep that female-forward, female point-of-view, fun, chaos, and anarchy, and bring it to this show,” Whalen says. 

Right from the first episode, the duo doesn’t shy away from depicting the range of menopause symptoms women can experience—and how inconvenient and unpredictable they can be. While Kris scrambles to find enough pads to manage her heavy flash bleeding, Julie sweats through her blouse and realizes she hasn’t had a period for more than 100 days. As the series continues, Kris and Julie navigate other changes—trouble sleeping, painful sex, lower libido— just 3 of the 30+ possible menopause symptoms. 

For most women, the menopausal transition (also known as perimenopause) begins between ages 45 and 55. According to the National Insititute on Aging, changes to your period may be one of the first indicators of menopause, while hot flashes and night sweats are among the most common symptoms. 

Despite the inevitability of menopause, so many women don’t feel ready to experience it. 46% of women surveyed in a 2023 report from the Menopause Foundation of Canada say they are unprepared for menopause. This is something Whalen experienced firsthand. “There was basic stuff that I didn’t know, that if I had known, I would have been more prepared,” she says. “It would have been an easier thing to go through.”

The duo shares that some reactions they’ve received to the series so far have been enlightening, and perhaps indicative of a general lack of awareness about menopause. “50% of the population goes through this. So just the fact that we’re showing a woman having a hot flash or period blood—there’s lots of questions around that, even though it should be common,” MacNeill says.  

But the tide is changing, slowly. Celebrities like Halle Berry, Naomi Watts, and Drew Barrymore have been outspoken about their menopause experiences. Recent documentaries like The M Factor, Alyssa Milano’s upcoming docu-series Balance, and series like The Change put menopause at the forefront. Even some beloved characters in popular TV series like And Just Like That… and Sex Education have discussed their menopause symptoms.

Menopause being wildly underrepresented on screen is only part of the equation. It’s one result of a widespread culture of shame, ignorance, and a lack of education about women’s health. When topics like menopause become taboo, it only means less overall awareness about bodily changes that half of the population experience. We need content like Small Achievable Goals, and creators like Whalen and MacNeill who are vocal, honest, and unashamed about menopause.

“We hope it chips away at the shame women feel around menopause, around aging, and just being a female in general,” MacNeill says. 

That sounds like a small achievable goal we can get behind. 

New episodes of Small Achievable Goals premiere every Tuesday at 9 pm on CBC. Stream anytime on CBC Gem.