“We thought you’d be home. I postponed dinner as long as I could,” Jill (Marianna Palka) says as she leaves a message for her husband, Bill (Jason Ritter, “Parenthood”), in the new trailer for “Bitch.” “There’s a dog watching me,” she adds in a trembling voice.

You see, Jill’s having a hard time of it. Bill is never at home, is cheating on her, and doesn’t listen when she talks to him. She takes care of their four kids on her own, and they are sort of terrible (“Mom! Can we go in this century, please?”). Growing more and more desperate, Jill finally cracks — and begins behaving like an aggressive dog. Literally.

“I read and heard a story that Scottish doctor R.D. Laing had a patient who had empty nest syndrome when her kids grew up and left the house and it was so fascinating to me,” writer-director-star Palka told us when “Bitch” screened at Sundance. With Laing’s patient in mind, she decided to explore what it would mean if an unhappy woman acted like an actual bitch.

“Women deserve all of their civil and human rights,” Palka stressed. “No one needs to use the term ‘bitch’ against anyone else, unless they’re literally talking about a female dog. Because no one is actually that term. So let’s find a better word.”

Along with appearing in projects like “GLOW,” “Girls,” and “Scottish Mussel,” Palka has helmed and acted in the features “I’m the Same,” “Good Dick,” and “Always Worthy.” Frequent collaborator Ritter also appears in the latter two. Palka’s next project, the dark motherhood comedy “Egg,” is in post-production. It stars Christina Hendricks (“Mad Men”), Alysia Reiner (“Orange Is the New Black”), and Anna Camp (“Pitch Perfect” franchise).

“Bitch” hits theaters and VOD November 10.