“beyond comedy and towards something rare… 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
“really good dialogue, in fact it’s damn near perfect, I mean it’s funny, it’s serious, it’s just such a great show”
Steve Wright, BBC Radio 2
“parenting series feels almost subversive…outwardly cynical, secretly sentimental… Both funny and searingly truthful… already been a hit on America’s FX network.” ★★★★
Ed Power, The Telegraph
“Doesn’t pull any punches…it’s genuinely laugh-out-loud funny”
Kate Noble, The Sun
“Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard excel in parenting sitcom with bite…Smart, spiky and hilarious” ★★★★
Morgan Jeffery, Radio Times
“biting social satire…intriguing…The writing is sharp and witty…perfectly formed wisecracks and zingers… Martin Freeman (also the lead), Chris Addison and Simon Blackwell are like three mad scientists let loose in the telly labs” ★★★★
Sean O’Grady, The Independent
8 June 2022: Sky Original Breeders, the comedy series starring Emmy and BAFTA-winning Martin Freeman (The Responder, Sherlock, Black Panther) and International Emmy and BAFTA-nominated Daisy Haggard (Back to Life, Episodes, Black Mirror) that explores the challenges of modern parenting, returns to Sky Comedy for its third season on Wednesday 13 July. Sally Phillips (Bridget Jones, Miranda) also joins the cast as a guest-star throughout the series.
Breeders – “the mother – and father – of all comedies…thick with laughs” (Mail On Sunday) – continues its bitter-sweet look at the struggles of modern parenthood. Season 3 starts days after Season 2 ended, as the Worsley family reels from teenaged Luke (Alex Eastwood) punching his dad, Paul (Martin Freeman). Paul’s moved out and is staying at his mother-in-law Leah’s (Stella Gonet) house. He should be lonely but actually the simpler life has its appeal. Eventually, though, amends with Luke must be made. Meanwhile Ally (Daisy Haggard) has her own problems – with work, with her early menopause and with her increasingly strained relationship with her newly adolescent daughter, Ava (Eve Prenelle). Gallows humour and large glasses of wine only go so far in quelling the angst…
Sky Comedy’s Breeders is produced by Avalon and FX Productions for FX Networks and Sky Originals. Academy Award®-nominee and double Emmy® Award-winner Simon Blackwell is showrunner. Breeders is created by Blackwell, double Emmy Award and Directors Guild of America Award winner Chris Addison and Emmy and BAFTA®-winning Martin Freeman, who also stars alongside Daisy Haggard who received a BAFTA® nomination for her role in the show last year.
Executive producers are Blackwell, Addison, Freeman, Richard Allen-Turner, Rob Aslett, David Martin, Jon Thoday, Toby Welch and Michael Wiggs. Jim Poyser produces. Tilusha Ghelani, Sky commissioning editor, will executive produce for Sky. Addison is director of episodes 1-5 and Ollie Parsons (Man Like Mobeen, Hitmen, Revolting) is director of episodes 6-10.
All 10-episodes of Breeders will be available 13 July on Sky Comedy, on demand and on streaming service, NOW. Catch up on the first two series available on demand.
-Ends-
Some other things the press have said about Breeders in the UK
“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
“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, The Mail On Sunday
“adopts the knife-edge tone that defines the best modern TV comedy”
Tom Faber, The Financial Times
“Breeders whizzes by, all zingers and howlers.” ★★★★
David Sexton, The Evening Standard
“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
“a thoughtful exploration of fatherhood.”
Helen Stewart, The Sunday Times
“Freeman and Haggard are thoroughly appealing performers…the two children — Alex Eastwood and Eve Prenelle, both new to the roles — are excellent”
Dominic Maxwell, The Times
“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…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, The Daily Star
“full of wonderful lines and hilarious situations. In short, it was everything you want from such a show” ★★★★
The 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
“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”
Ammar Kalie, The Guardian and The Observer
★★★★
Ian Hyland, The Mirror
“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, The Daily Mail
“If you’re in need of a good laugh, this refreshingly frank parenting sitcom will do the job…witty, honest and often relatable”
Jen Crothers and Nathalie Whittle Round, Good Housekeeping
“The turbulent push and pull of how much independence you should give your children is perfectly realised.”
Joe Clay, The Times
★★★★
Robin Wiggs, Daily Mail
“lots of fun. It’s refreshingly honest and well-observed…a smart, warts and all comedy”
Sara Wallis, The Mirror
“brilliant creation”
Helen Brown, The Telegraph
“spot-on comedy…hits the funny bone again”
Gerrard O’Donovan, The Telegraph
Notes to editors
For further information, please contact: Victoria Wedderburn at Avalon on VWedderburn@avalonuk.com or 07557160139
About Sky
Sky is Europe’s leading media and entertainment company and is proud to be part of Comcast Corporation, a global media and technology company that connects people to moments that matter. Across six countries, Sky connects 23 million customers to the best entertainment, sports, news, arts and to our own award-winning original content.
Following the launch of Sky Glass, we now offer customers our strongest ever line-up of products and services. As well as the new streaming TV with Sky inside and everything integrated, customers can enjoy the award-winning Sky Q with all your favourite channels and apps in one place, and with Sky Go you can now access an even better experience on your devices. Sky TV has new channels, new shows and new deals with Peacock, Paramount+ and more. Sky Mobile was voted Best Pay Monthly and Best Value Pay Monthly network by Uswitch, and with Sky Broadband we’re offering our fastest speeds yet.
Building on the success of Sky Originals like Chernobyl, Gangs of London and Brassic, we are doubling our investment in original content by 2024 through Sky Studios. Our new TV and movie studio, Sky Studios Elstree, 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 alone. Sky News provides impartial and trustworthy journalism for free; Sky Arts is the UKs only dedicated free-to-air arts channel making the arts accessible for everyone and Sky Sports, our leading sports broadcasting service, brings customers some of the biggest and best global sporting events from the Premier League to Formula 1 and everything in-between. Sky Cinema is the home of Sky Original films with brand new films launching every month alongside an unrivalled range of the latest cinema releases and on demand library.
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 – the UN Climate Change Conference. 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 the next three years to improve our approach to diversity and inclusion, and to tackle racial injustice.
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); Flatbush Misdemeanours (Showtime), a new comedy series created by and starring Dan Perlman and Kevin Iso; 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.
