“When a TV show pops a plot twist that makes you suspect its creators hid a GoPro somewhere on your body, it can make for must-see TV. “Breeders,” a set-in-London parental comedy now in its second season, is one of those shows”
Scott L. Powers, Chicago Tribune
“The Poster Child For Pandemic Comedy Television”
Peter White, Deadline
“heartfelt storytelling… more self-aware voice in season two, the show has found its place in the genre…Breeders becomes stronger as a show, one that actually has something more poignant to offer”
Saloni Gajjar, A.V. Club
“Cheers to Breeders for producing a couple we’ve grown to adore… Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard feel even more riotously relatable in the dramedy’s consistently addicting second season”
Damian Holbrook, TV Guide
Following the critically acclaimed first series Sky Original comedy Breeders starring Emmy and BAFTA-winning Martin Freeman (Fargo, Sherlock, Black Panther) and International Emmy and BAFTA-nominated Daisy Haggard (Back to Life, Episodes, Black Mirror) returns to Sky One and streaming service NOW on Thursday 27 May. All ten episodes will be available on demand.
Breeders continues to explore the parental paradox that you’d happily die for your children, but quite often also want to kill them. In the new series, time has moved on from where we left Paul (Freeman) and Ally’s (Haggard) family. Their son Luke (Alex Eastwood) is now 13 years old and daughter Ava (Eve Prenelle) is now 10, both serving up brand new parenting challenges. Luke’s increasing anxiety and Ava’s growing independence add some new and uncharted complications into the existing chaotic mix of stretched resources, lack of time and the fine art of winging it while looking like you know what you’re doing.
#Breeders Season 2 trailer is here. Premiering from March 22nd on @FXNetworks.@daisy_haggard @mrchrisaddison @simonblackwell pic.twitter.com/ercUuNLAyM
— Breeders (@BreedersTV) February 11, 2021
Paul’s parents, Jackie (Joanna Bacon) and Jim (Alun Armstrong) are older too, as is Ally’s mother Leah (Stella Gonet), leading Paul and Ally to find that they now must parent the generation above them as well as the generation below. And at the centre of all this is Paul and Ally’s relationship. Can they survive these new pressures when they only just about survived the old ones? Or is there a finite number of ropes you can find yourself at the end of?
Daisy Haggard has been nominated for this year’s British Academy Television Award, Female Performance in a Comedy Programme, for her role in the series.
Breeders is produced by Avalon and FX Productions for FX Networks and Sky Originals. Academy Award®-nominee and double Emmy® Award-winner Simon Blackwell (Veep, Peep Show, The Personal History of David Copperfield, Back) is showrunner. Breeders is created by Blackwell, double Emmy Award and Directors Guild of America Award winner Chris Addison (Veep, The Thick of It, The Hustle) and Emmy and BAFTA®-winning Martin Freeman (Fargo, Sherlock, Black Panther, Captain America: Civil War, The Hobbit), who also stars alongside Daisy Haggard (Back to Life, Episodes, Black Mirror). Executive producers are Blackwell, Addison, Freeman, Richard Allen-Turner, Rob Aslett, David Martin, Jon Thoday, Toby Welch (Catastrophe, The Tunnel, Skins) and Michael Wiggs. Tilusha Ghelani, Sky commissioning editor, is the executive producer for Sky. Ben Palmer (Man Up, The Inbetweeners Movie, Back) is co-executive producer and director of episodes 1-5, Dan Kay (The New Pope, The Salisbury Poisonings, Uncle) produces and Ollie Parsons (Man Like Mobeen, Hitmen, Revolting) is director of episode 6-10.
Episodes are available for press review Sky Screening Room.
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For more information please contact:
Victoria Wedderburn on [email protected] at Avalon
Molly Wyatt on [email protected] and Dominic Collett on [email protected] at Sky
UK Press Quotes on Breeders
“beyond comedy and towards something rare…Writers Simon Blackwell, Chris Addison and Freeman himself have given us not only a couple we can honestly believe in but also a drama for modern times”
Euan Ferguson, The Observer
“terrific: dark, fresh, brutal, funny…Simon Blackwell and Chris Addison have managed the near-impossible by creating a parenting comedy that is not twee and makes the tired tropes of sleep deprivation and school-catchment obsession funny.” ★★★★
Carol Midgley, The Times
“For Breeders to deal with darker topics, including postnatal depression and what Blackwell calls “grief sex”, it adopts the knife-edge tone that defines the best modern TV comedy: able to nest real, wrenching drama into outlandish scenarios and vice versa, rather than offering viewers a predictable series of set-ups and positive punchlines”
Tom Faber, Financial Times
“Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard excel in parenting sitcom with bite…Smart, spiky and hilarious” ★★★★
Morgan Jeffery, Radio Times
“crafted to perfection, Blackwell supplies a steady stream of laugh-out-loud lines and Freeman and Haggard immediately gel as a finely tuned double act playing off each other with exquisite timing” ★★★★
Mark Wareham, Mail On Sunday
“The parent-torment sitcom Breeders, now on episode three, ‘No Accident’, is beginning to emulsify nicely…Breeders whizzes by, all zingers and howlers.” ★★★★
David Sexton, Evening Standard
“Refreshingly truthful parenting comedy” ★★★★
Ian Hyland, The Mirror
“a hilariously no-holds-barred look at the real challenges of parenting in the contemporary world…a brilliantly shocking opening that sets the tone for a show, which is beautifully observed and very funny” ★★★★★
Boyd Hilton, Heat Magazine
“honest and uncompromising comedy pulling no punches as it explores the pressures of raising a family. Millions of mums and dads across Britain will sympathise…prepare for laughs, tears and plenty of swearing” ★★★★
Sean Marland, TV Times Magazine
“Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard impress in Sky’s parental sitcom…their tight-knit, witty bitching about rival, “perfect ” schoolgate parents is a delight that never flags… a triumph”
Euan Ferguson, The Observer
“a corker of an introduction…uncompromising but hilarious” ★★★★★
Mike Ward, Daily Star
“last week’s opening double-bill was full of wonderful lines and hilarious situations. In short, it was everything you want from such a show” ★★★★
Daily Star Sunday
“Freeman and Daisy Haggard, who plays Paul’s wife, Ally, are excellent as the couple whose united front cracks as sleep deprivation kicks in.”
Victoria Segal, The Sunday Times
“When the great corona-shutdown kicks in, the Breeders crew might find they’ve made the most accidentally zeitgeisty programme of all time”
Victoria Coren Mitchell, The Telegraph
“an unforgivingly accurate depiction of the lesser-spotted aspects of raising kids that will have most parents wincing in recognition… funny, seldom comfortable and worryingly relatable”
Gabriel Tate, The Telegraph
“No-holds-barred ferocity…the show is fearless”
James Jackson, The Times
“Tune in to for Freeman on top form as the wry and exasperated Paul”
Ammar Kalie, The Guardian and The Observer
“Here’s the mother – and father – of all comedies for any parents who’ve endured sleepless nights while bringing up young children…thick with laughs”
Deborah Ross, Mail On Sunday
“How many comedies are honest about what being a parent of young children entails? Maybe Motherland broke the mould, but Breeders takes it to another level… painfully funny”
David Butcher, Radio Times
“Welcome to the set of Breeders, a new show that takes the best ingredients of Motherland and Outnumbered – middle-class dramas about parenting – and adds a large dose of the sheer fury that it can induce…Bitingly funny”
Nicole Lampert, Daily Mail
“Doesn’t pull any punches…it’s genuinely laugh-out-loud funny”
Kate Noble, The Sun
“Dark, honest and made all the more human by the welcome chaos of being a parent. It could be a scene from Breeders”
Guy Kelly, The Telegraph
“Breeders stands as a candid, and hilarious, dissection of modern parenting”
Lucas Hill-Paul, The Express
“lots of fun. It’s refreshingly honest and well-observed…a smart, warts and all comedy”
Sara Wallis, The Mirror
“Finally, a comedy that lays bare the pain of parenting…painful, hilarious and closer to reality than many might care to admit”
Ed Power, The i
“brilliant creation”
Helen Brown, The Telegraph
“I think they’ve written a great thing, it felt really well observed and had good lines…must watch”
Hayley Campbell, BBC Radio5 Live
“I love it…it’s a great, great, show…Watch the first minute of the first episode and if you’re not in after that I don’t know why God gave you eyes and indeed ears…it’s very funny.”
Chris Evans, Virgin Radio
“it’s really really funny, I really love it”
Sara Cox, BBC Radio 4
“Sky’s achingly spot-on comedy, with Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard as a couple driven to distraction by the demands of parenting, hits the funny bone again with reminders of the painful pinch of the “sandwich” generation.”
Gerrard O’Donovan, The Telegraph
“brilliantly uncomfortable”
Hugo Rifkind, The Times
US Press Quotes on Breeders
“9.5 on the buzz meter”
Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter
“This dark comedy series about the challenges of child rearing couldn’t have come at a better time.”
Peter Libbey, The New York Times
“riotously funny”
Kelly Lawler, USA Today
Top 5 Shows To Watch in Quarantine
Los Angeles Times
“edgy….humor, cynicism, reluctance, bewilderment, love”
Michael Starr, The New York Post
“Television’s Most Relatable Portrayal of Modern Parenting. Daisy Haggard and Martin Freeman are superb at conveying genuine affection and sheer exasperation. An underrated gem”
Jon O’Brien, Decider
“One of my absolute favourite shows on TV”
Jess Cagle, The Jess Cagle Show Sirius XM
“Breeders is made by parents for parents, and everyone who seeks to understand family life…that rare show that’s actually funnier in its second season”
Sandy Kenyon, ABC7
“Paul and Ally face a lot of specific, fun situations and hardships, but the series always finds a way to make them resonate…Breeders humanizes and lends empathy toward parental figures….Despite touching on serious issues, Breeders doesn’t lose sight of its humor, interweaving it throughout the episodes via matter-of-fact, deadpan delivery of one-liners and absurd scenarios”
Saloni Gajjar, A.V. Club
“Expect clutter, vomit, exasperation, and cutting one-liners”
Keith Phipps, Rolling Stone
“Us Musts: a show about loving your kids but also wanting to murder them? How pandemicky!”
Us Weekly
“While “Breeders” was dreamed up as a darkly honest, unfiltered comedy for the best of times, a person can only imagine how relatable it must be in a time when schools and day cares are closed and parents – the lucky ones, I should say – are stuck working at home with children who have no concept of the pressures bearing down on adults.”
Melanie Mcfarland, Salon.com
“It’s so funny and it’s so real, I feel parents everywhere will relate…we love the show and guys, you will love it too”
Lara Spencer, Good Morning America
“Your favorite overwhelmed parenting couple is back”
Linda Maleh, TV Insider
“Breeders refuses to sugarcoat the pains of parenting and remains dedicated to pulling humor from hardships” Nick Caruso, TV Line
“We feel ourselves truly seen and what can we say misery loves company, they show you the good the bad and the ugly of parenting”
Dalton Ross, EW Live SiriusXM
“If you’ve had kids, you’ve lived this show. If not, you can just laugh at all of us fools”
Jon Hein, Primetimer
“a refreshingly unflinching look at the good, bad and ugly realities of parenthood—new parents be warned!” Benjamin Lindsay, Rotten Tomatoes
“[Martin Freeman] is as gifted as his characters are relatable. He’s got some serious depth and range”
Donna Freydkin, Fatherly
“hilarious”
Entertainment Tonight
“Each episode feels like a slice of life, complete with laughs, tears, sarcasm….In the hands of [Martin] Freeman, [Daisy] Haggard, [Simon] Blackwell and [Chris] Addison, it makes for wry, amusing and relatable television…..Rating: ★★★★ Very good”
Diane Gordon, Collider
“Hilarious….Buckle up, parents, because we’re all about to take a ride on the parenting train into Relatable Town thanks to FX’s newest comedy, Breeders”
Alessia Santoro, PopSugar
“brutally honest — and hilarious”
Damian Holbrook, TV Guide
“Breeders is hilarious, it is refreshing to see a show that is not a typical idea of what childhood looks like, the glossy perfect version”
Keshia Chante, ET Canada
“a couple enduring some hilarious struggles while trying to raise their two children”
Jessica Toomer, UPROXX
“Breeders finds catharsis amid the agony of parenthood….The lighting-strike chemistry of the show’s central couple fuels its exploration of parenthood’s highs and lows”
Niv M. Sultan, Slant
“Breeders tackles the toils of parenting in a realistic and relatable way seldom seen on TV”
TV Best Bets, Staff, Channel Guide Magazine
“Looks like the most honest show about parenting on TV…. If you’ve got kids, we have your new favorite show lined up and ready”
Lindsay MacDonald, TVGuide.com
“the first two episodes made us laugh so much….it pulled no punches when it comes to the difficulties of being parents in this day and age…. Breeders’ stark reality of what it’s like to parent young kids these days hits us right in our exhausted funny bones”
Joel Keller, Decider
“Breeders” has a lot going for it, especially in the choices of Freeman and Haggard as its leads… Thanks to its creative team and solid performers, “Breeders” is a reliable comedy”
Caroline Framke, Variety
“I know many viewers can relate to this comedy series….This comedy is sure to make you laugh while you’re nodding and thinking, ‘Yep. I can relate to that’”
Verona Jones, Fansided
“The Poster Child for Pandemic Comedy Television”
Peter White, Deadline
“Cheers to Breeders for producing a couple we’ve grown to adore. As a flawed and frantic London couple struggling to raise two kids and retain their sanity, Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard feel even more riotously relatable in the FX dramedy’s consistently addicting second season”
Damian Holbrook, TV Guide
“When a TV show pops a plot twist that makes you suspect its creators hid a GoPro somewhere on your body, it can make for must-see TV. “Breeders,” a set-in-London parental comedy now in its second season, is one of those shows….it will be fascinating to see where Season 2 is headed”
Scott L. Powers, Chicago Tribune
“heartfelt storytelling… more self-aware voice in season two, the show has found its place in the genre…Breeders becomes stronger as a show, one that actually has something more poignant to offer”
Saloni Gajjar, A.V. Club
About Sky
Sky is Europe’s leading media and entertainment company and is proud to be part of the Comcast group. Across six countries, we connect our 24 million customers to the best entertainment, sports, news, arts and to our own award-winning original content.
Our technology, including the market leading Sky Q, connects people to everything they love – with entertainment from Sky TV, Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video and BBC iPlayer, and apps like Spotify, YouTube, BBC Sounds, Highbrow, Fiit, and more, in one place, easy. Our streaming service, NOW, brings viewers all the enjoyment of Sky with the flexibility of a contract-free service.
Building on the success of Sky Originals like Chernobyl, Bulletproof and Brassic, we are doubling our investment in original content by 2024 through Sky Studios. Sky News provides impartial and trustworthy journalism for free, while Sky Arts, the UK’s only dedicated free-to-air arts channel, makes the arts accessible for everyone. Our new TV and movie studio, Sky Studios Elstree, which will open in 2022, is expected to create over 2,000 new jobs and generate an additional £3 billion of production investment in the UK over the first five years.
We believe that we can be a force for good in the communities in which we operate. We’re committed to being Europe’s first net zero carbon entertainment company by 2030 and we’re proud to be a Principal Partner and Media Partner of COP26. We take pride in our approach to diversity and inclusion: we’ve been recognised by The Times and Stonewall for our commitment to diversity and we’ve set ambitious 2025 targets to continue to increase diversity and representation. We’re also committed to investing £30million across our markets over three years to improve our approach to diversity and inclusion, and to tackle racial injustice.
About NOW
NOW is a leading UK streaming service, giving you the best TV, box sets, movies, sports and kids entertainment whenever, and wherever, you want it. Pick from the range of content passes including Entertainment, Sky Cinema, Sky Sports, Kids and reality TV with hayu.
You can stream content to watch through the NOW app, available on over 60 devices including the NOW Smart Stick and Smart Box and even download your favourite shows and movies to watch on the go.
NOW is the home of the best new and original British comedies, Oscar, BAFTA, and Emmy award winning dramas, Sky originals and movies. NOW customers can enjoy over 30 new movies every month and Sky Atlantic shows, without a contract.
Sports fans can enjoy all the action across all 11 Sky Sports channels through day, week or month passes.
NOW also offers great value reliable broadband as a standalone contract-free service with NOW Broadband.
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About Avalon
Avalon is a multi-award-winning talent management, television production and live promotion group with offices in London, Los Angeles and New York.
Avalon, Artist Rights Group (ARG) and The Agency represent a prolific roster of artists including comedians, actors, presenters, writers and directors. Avalon’s numerous ground-breaking returning television shows currently in production include: Not Going Out (BBC), the UK’s longest running sitcom on air; Taskmaster (Channel 4), the BAFTA-winning hit entertainment format showing in 100 countries; multi Emmy-winner, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO); The Russell Howard Hour (Sky), the network’s most successful entertainment show launch since 2010; Starstruck, a new sitcom from the 2018 Edinburgh Comedy Award winner Rose Matafeo (HBO Max/BBC); Everything’s Gonna Be Okay, from creator Josh Thomas (Freeform); Breeders, a sitcom starring Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard (FX/Sky); a new series of the iconic British satirical puppet show, Spitting Image (BritBox UK); and multiple comedy specials for Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max and Netflix.
Other landmark Avalon shows include BAFTA winning and multi Emmy nominated Catastrophe (Amazon Prime Video/Channel 4), Fantasy Football League (BBC/ITV), multi BAFTA-winning TV Burp (ITV), and Workaholics (Comedy Central USA). Avalon also distributes its catalogue of programmes to over 150 countries worldwide. Avalon has produced many globally successful podcasts and is at the top of the UK iTunes chart with the multi-award-winning Shagged. Married. Annoyed by Chris and Rosie Ramsey.
