Breeders (TV series)


Breeders is a dark comedy television series created by Martin Freeman, Chris Addison and Simon Blackwell. The series follows two parents who struggle with parenthood and is partially based on Freeman's own experiences. Freeman plays one of the two leads in the series, along with Daisy Haggard, and is also an executive producer on the show along with Addison and Blackwell.
The series premiered on March 2, 2020, on the American cable network FX, and on the British network Sky One on March 12, 2020. On May 18, 2020, the series was renewed for a second season which premiered on March 22, 2021. In May 2021, the series was renewed for a third season which premiered on May 9, 2022. In July 2022, the series was renewed for a fourth and final season, which premiered on July 31, 2023.

Cast and characters

Main

  • Martin Freeman as Paul Worsley, a father of two and Ally's partner. He works in an office job and has been there for the last twenty years or so, making him the longest-serving member of the charity. Despite his caring and protective nature, he also has anger management issues relating to his two children, which sees him smoking cigarettes and lashing out at his family. His rage later becomes so bad he is forced to temporarily leave his home after his teenage son, Luke, begins to develop anxiety over Paul's temper.
  • Daisy Haggard as Ally Grant, a mother of two and Paul's partner. She worked for, and later became partner at a sound studio firm.

    Supporting

  • George Wakeman, Alex Eastwood and Oscar Kennedy as Luke, Paul and Ally's son
  • Jayda Eyles, Eve Prenelle and Zoë Athena as Ava, Paul and Ally's daughter
  • Joanna Bacon as Jackie Worsley, Paul's mother
  • Alun Armstrong as Jim Worsley, Paul's father
  • Stella Gonet as Leah Grant, Ally's mother
  • Patrick Baladi as Darren, Paul and Ally's friend and Ally's boss, then business partner
  • Michael McKean as Michael Grant, Ally's estranged father

    Recurring

  • Tim Steed as Carl, Paul and Ally's next-door neighbour
  • Hugh Quarshie as Alex, Leah's new husband
  • Jordan A. Nash as Jacob, Luke's friend
  • Aliyah Sesay and Ruby Fubara as Grace, Ava's friend
  • Sally Phillips as Gabby, Leah's neighbour
  • Andi Osho as Susie
  • Deepica Stephen as Maya, Luke's girlfriend
  • Jessie Williams as Holly

    Episodes

Season 1 (2020)

Season 2 (2021)

Season 3 (2022)

Season 4 (2023)

Production

Development

On March 7, 2018, it was announced that Avalon Television was developing a comedy series created by Martin Freeman. The series was originally a co-production between the BBC and FX, similar to the drama series Taboo. A pilot was already filmed at the time of the announcement. On October 14, 2018, it was announced that FX and Sky had commissioned the series with ten half-hour episodes, with a series debut in 2020. On January 20, 2020, FX announced that the series would premiere on March 2, 2020.
On May 18, 2020, the series was renewed for a second season which premiered on March 22, 2021. On May 27, 2021, the series was renewed for a third season. On July 19, 2022, the series was renewed for a fourth season. On June 28, 2023, it was announced that the fourth season would be the final season and premiere on July 31, 2023.

Casting

Alongside the series announcement, it was announced that Freeman would star in the series. Furthermore, Daisy Haggard and Michael Gambon were also cast in the series. However, on April 21, 2019, it was reported that Gambon left the series as he was having trouble memorising his lines due to memory loss issues.

Filming

Filming for the second season had been delayed by sixteen weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the delay, filming for the second season began on September 1, 2020, in London, and concluded production on December 18, 2020. Season 3 began filming in November 2021 and concluded filming in March 2022.

Release

The series premiered on March 2, 2020, on FX in the United States and Canada. The series premiere coincided with the launch of FX on Hulu and therefore the series became the first FX series with episodes available on Hulu by the next day. In Bulgaria and Poland, the series airs on HBO Europe. The series was formerly broadcast in Australia on Foxtel, via its broadcast network FOX One and on demand services until May 2022. It comes as Disney is looking forward to reclaiming its FX and 20th Television titles in order to stream them exclusively on the company's service: Disney+. Breeders moved to Disney+ on June 1, 2022. Soon after Breeders Departed Foxtel and its Service, Season 3 moved to streaming on June 15, 2022, exclusively on Disney+ as a Star Original with new episodes airing on a weekly basis.

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has a score of 83% with an average score of 6.8/10, based on 35 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "A provocative addition to the growing slate of shows about parents behaving badly, Breeders' take on the realities of child-rearing are as hilarious as they are cringe-inducing." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, has assigned the first season a score of 65 out of 100 based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Rotten Tomatoes gave the second season a score of 100% with an average score of 8/10, based on 7 reviews. The third season has a score of 100% with an average score of 8/10, based on 5 reviews.

Accolades