Breeders (TV series)

Breeders is a dark comedy^[1] 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.

Breeders
Genre	Dark comedy
Created by	Martin Freeman Chris Addison Simon Blackwell
Starring	Martin Freeman Daisy Haggard
Country of origin	United Kingdom United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	30
Production
Executive producers	Martin Freeman Chris Addison Simon Blackwell Richard Allen-Turner Rob Aslett David Martin Jon Thoday Michael Wiggs Ben Palmer (co-exec. producer)
Producers	Toby Welch Jim Poyser
Running time	22-33 minutes
Production companies	FXP Avalon Television Sky Original Productions
Distributor	Disney–ABC Domestic Television
Release
Original network	FX (United States) Sky One (United Kingdom)
Original release	March 2, 2020 (2020-03-02) – present (present)

The series premiered on March 2, 2020, on the American cable network FX, and on the British network Sky One on March 12, 2020.^[2] 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 which premiered on May 9, 2022. On July 19, 2022, the series was renewed for a fourth season.

Cast

Main

• Martin Freeman as Paul Worsley, a father of two and Ally's partner
• Daisy Haggard as Ally Grant, a mother of two and Paul's partner

Recurring

• Michael McKean as Michael (season 1), Ally's estranged father
• Stella Gonet as Leah, Ally's mother
• Joanna Bacon as Jackie, Paul's mother
• Alun Armstrong as Jim, Paul's father
• Patrick Baladi as Darren, Paul and Ally's friend
• Tim Steed as Carl, Paul and Ally's next-door neighbour
• George Wakeman (season 1) and Alex Eastwood (season 2-present) as Luke, Paul and Ally's son
• Jayda Eyles (season 1) and Eve Prenelle (season 2-present) as Ava, Paul and Ally's daughter

Episodes

Season	Episodes		Originally aired
			First aired	Last aired
1	10		March 2, 2020 (2020-03-02)	April 27, 2020 (2020-04-27)
2	10		March 22, 2021 (2021-03-22)	May 17, 2021 (2021-05-17)
3	10		May 9, 2022 (2022-05-09)	July 11, 2022 (2022-07-11)

Season 1 (2020)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers (millions)
1	1	"No Sleep"	Ben Palmer	Simon Blackwell	March 2, 2020 (2020-03-02)	0.328^[3]
2	2	"No Places"	Ben Palmer	Simon Blackwell	March 2, 2020 (2020-03-02)	0.212^[3]
3	3	"No Accident"	Ben Palmer	Simon Blackwell	March 9, 2020 (2020-03-09)	0.179^[4]
4	4	"No Lies"	Ben Palmer	Barunka O'Shaughnessy	March 16, 2020 (2020-03-16)	0.243^[5]
5	5	"No Dad"	Ben Palmer	Oriane Messina & Fay Rusling	March 23, 2020 (2020-03-23)	0.188^[6]
6	6	"No Talking"	Chris Addison	Jamie Brittain	March 30, 2020 (2020-03-30)	0.298^[7]
7	7	"No Exit"	Chris Addison	Jamie Brittain	April 6, 2020 (2020-04-06)	0.249^[8]
8	8	"No Honeymoon"	Chris Addison	Oriane Messina & Fay Rusling	April 13, 2020 (2020-04-13)	0.144^[9]
9	9	"No Cure Part 1"	Chris Addison	Simon Blackwell	April 20, 2020 (2020-04-20)	0.278^[10]
10	10	"No Cure Part 2"	Chris Addison	Simon Blackwell	April 27, 2020 (2020-04-27)	0.252^[11]

Season 2 (2021)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers (millions)
11	1	"No Surrender"	Ben Palmer	Simon Blackwell	March 22, 2021 (2021-03-22)	0.364^[12]
12	2	"No Fear"	Ben Palmer	Oriane Messina & Fay Rusling	March 22, 2021 (2021-03-22)	0.256^[12]
13	3	"No Connection"	Ben Palmer	Jamie Brittain	March 29, 2021 (2021-03-29)	0.195^[13]
14	4	"No Faith"	Ben Palmer	Rebecca Callard	April 5, 2021 (2021-04-05)	0.206^[14]
15	5	"No Baby"	Ben Palmer	Jamie Brittain and Barunka O'Shaughnessy	April 12, 2021 (2021-04-12)	0.160^[15]
16	6	"No Choice"	Ollie Parsons	Fay Rusling	April 19, 2021 (2021-04-19)	0.156^[16]
17	7	"No Excuses"	Ollie Parsons	Rebecca Callard	April 26, 2021 (2021-04-26)	0.226^[17]
18	8	"No Friends"	Ollie Parsons	Simon Blackwell	May 3, 2021 (2021-05-03)	0.247^[18]
19	9	"No Power Part I"	Ollie Parsons	Simon Blackwell	May 10, 2021 (2021-05-10)	0.181^[19]
20	10	"No Power Part II"	Ollie Parsons	Simon Blackwell	May 17, 2021 (2021-05-17)	0.139^[20]

Season 3 (2022)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers (millions)
21	1	"No Direction Home"	Chris Addison	Simon Blackwell	May 9, 2022 (2022-05-09)	0.120^[21]
22	2	"No Worries"	Chris Addison	Simon Blackwell	May 9, 2022 (2022-05-09)	0.070^[21]
23	3	"No Comfort"	Chris Addison	Rose Heiney	May 16, 2022 (2022-05-16)	0.155^[22]
24	4	"No Body"	Chris Addison	Rebecca Callard	May 23, 2022 (2022-05-23)	0.168^[23]
25	5	"No Can Do"	Chris Addison	Simon Blackwell	May 30, 2022 (2022-05-30)	0.189^[24]
26	6	"No Show"	Ollie Parsons	Oriane Messina and Fay Rusling	June 6, 2022 (2022-06-06)	0.189^[25]
27	7	"No Pressure"	Ollie Parsons	Taylor Glenn	June 11, 2022 (2022-06-11)	0.107^[26]
28	8	"No Way Back"	Ollie Parsons	Simon Blackwell	June 18, 2022 (2022-06-18)	0.158^[27]
29	9	"No More Part One"	Ollie Parsons	Simon Blackwell	June 27, 2022 (2022-06-27)	0.172^[28]
30	10	"No More Part Two"	Ollie Parsons	Simon Blackwell	July 11, 2022 (2022-07-11)	0.087^[29]

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.^[30] A pilot was already filmed at the time of the announcement. On October 14, 2018, it was announced that FX and Sky (the latter replacing the BBC) had commissioned the series with ten half-hour episodes, with a series debut in 2020.^[31] On January 20, 2020, FX announced that the series would premiere on March 2, 2020.^[32]

On May 18, 2020, the series was renewed for a second season which premiered on March 22, 2021.^[33][34] On May 27, 2021, the series was renewed for a third season.^[35] On July 19, 2022, the series was renewed for a fourth season.^[36]

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.^[30] 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.^[37]

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,^[38][39] and concluded production on December 18, 2020.^[40] 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.^[41] In Bulgaria and Poland, the series airs on HBO Europe.^[42][43] 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 series holds a 91% approval rating with the website's critics consensus reading, "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."^[44] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, has assigned the series a score of 65 out of 100 based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."^[45]

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
2020	Venice TV Awards	Best Comedy	Rob Aslett, Richard Allen-Turner, Simon Blackwell, David Martin, Jon Thoday, Martin Freeman, Chris Addison, Michael Wiggs, Toby Welch, Sophie MacClancy, Ben Palmer, Avalon Television	Won	^[46]
2021	BAFTA Awards	British Academy Television Award for Best Female Comedy Performance	Daisy Haggard	Nominated	^[47]

References

1. "'Breeders' is a Dark Comedy That Gets the Parenting Struggle".
2. "Breeders". Sky UK. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
3. Metcalf, Mitch (March 3, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.2.202". Showbuzz Daily. from the original on March 3, 2020.
4. Metcalf, Mitch (March 10, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.9.2020". Showbuzz Daily. from the original on March 11, 2020.
5. Metcalf, Mitch (March 17, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.16.2020". Showbuzz Daily. from the original on March 17, 2020.
6. Metcalf, Mitch (March 24, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.23.2020". Showbuzz Daily. from the original on March 24, 2020.
7. Metcalf, Mitch (March 31, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.30.2020". Showbuzz Daily. from the original on April 1, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
8. Metcalf, Mitch (April 7, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.6.2020". Showbuzz Daily. from the original on April 7, 2020.
9. Metcalf, Mitch (April 14, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.13.2020". Showbuzz Daily. from the original on April 17, 2020.
10. Metcalf, Mitch (April 21, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.20.2020". Showbuzz Daily. from the original on April 21, 2020.
11. Metcalf, Mitch (April 28, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.27.2020". Showbuzz Daily. from the original on April 29, 2020.
12. Metcalf, Mitch (March 23, 2021). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.22.2021". Showbuzz Daily. from the original on March 23, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
13. Metcalf, Mitch (March 31, 2021). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.29.2021". Showbuzz Daily. from the original on March 30, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
14. Metcalf, Mitch (April 6, 2021). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.5.2021". Showbuzz Daily. from the original on April 6, 2021. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
15. Metcalf, Mitch (April 13, 2021). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.12.2021". Showbuzz Daily. from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
16. Metcalf, Mitch (April 20, 2021). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.19.2021". Showbuzz Daily. from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
17. Metcalf, Mitch (April 27, 2021). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.26.2021". Showbuzz Daily. from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
18. Metcalf, Mitch (May 4, 2021). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 5.3.2021". Showbuzz Daily. from the original on May 4, 2021. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
19. Metcalf, Mitch (May 11, 2021). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 5.10.2021". Showbuzz Daily. from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
20. Metcalf, Mitch (May 18, 2021). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 5.17.2021". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
21. Metcalf, Mitch (May 10, 2022). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Monday 5.9.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals UPDATED". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
22. Metcalf, Mitch (May 17, 2022). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Monday 5.16.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals UPDATED". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
23. Metcalf, Mitch (May 24, 2022). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Monday 5.23.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals UPDATED". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
24. Metcalf, Mitch (June 1, 2022). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Monday 5.30.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals UPDATED". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
25. Metcalf, Mitch (June 7, 2022). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Monday 6.6.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals UPDATED". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
26. Salem, Mitch (June 14, 2022). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Monday 6.13.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals UPDATED". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
27. Metcalf, Mitch (June 21, 2022). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Monday 6.20.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals UPDATED". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
28. Salem, Mitch (June 28, 2022). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Monday 6.27.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals UPDATED". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
29. Salem, Mitch (July 12, 2022). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Monday 7.11.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals UPDATED". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
30. White, Peter (March 7, 2018). "Avalon Developing Martin Freeman Comedy 'Breeders' For BBC & FX". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
31. White, Peter (October 14, 2018). "FX & Sky Team For Parenting Comedy 'Breeders' From 'Sherlock' Star Martin Freeman & 'Catastrophe' Producer Avalon". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
32. Petski, Denise (January 9, 2020). "FX Sets Premiere Dates For 'Fargo', 'Mrs. America', 'Better Things', 'Devs', 'Archer' & More – TCA". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
33. ""Breeders" Returns for a Second Series – Critically Acclaimed Sky Original Starring Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard" (Press release). FX. May 18, 2020 – via The Futon Critic.
34. "FX Sets Premiere Dates for Next Wave of Programming" (Press release). FX. February 5, 2021 – via The Futon Critic.
35. White, Peter (May 27, 2021). "'Breeders' Renewed For Season 3 At FX & Sky". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
36. Porter, Rick (July 19, 2022). "'Breeders' Renewed for Season 4 at FX". The Hollywood Reporter.
37. Pearce, Tilly (April 21, 2019). "Sir Michael Gambon 'steps down from new sitcom after struggling with memory loss'". Metro. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
38. "Daisy Haggard on Instagram: "Filming has resumed on #breeders2 with me and my spanx pants and that bloke from Hardware.. @breedersfx @skytv"". Instagram. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
39. Bennett, Steve. "Filming resumes on series 2 of Breeders : News 2020 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
40. Kanter, Jake (December 22, 2020). "'Breeders': Season 2 Of FX/Sky's Martin Freeman & Daisy Haggard Comedy Wraps". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
41. White, Peter (January 9, 2020). "John Landgraf Calls FX On Hulu "Transformative Opportunity" For Cabler As Digital Hub Sets March Launch Plans – TCA". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
42. "Родители и деца І – 1". HBO Go (in Bulgarian). Retrieved April 14, 2020.
43. "Rodzice (Breeders) – sezon 1 – HBO GO". HBO Go (in Polish). Retrieved April 14, 2020.
44. "Breeders: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
45. "Breeders: Season 1". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
46. "Winners 2020". Venice TV Award (in German). Retrieved July 9, 2022.
47. "Bafta TV Awards 2021: Winners and nominees in full". BBC News. June 6, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2022.

External links

• Official website  
• Breeders at IMDb