“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
The critically acclaimed comedy Breeders starring Martin Freeman (The Responder, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) and Daisy Haggard (Back to Life, Episodes, Black Mirror) will premiere its fourth and final series this October on Sky Comedy and streaming service NOW in the UK and Ireland.
The final ten episodes deliver a dramatic conclusion to the Worsley family story of parenthood. Martin and Daisy reprise their roles as parents Paul and Ally and are joined by new cast members Oscar Kennedy (Wreck, Ladhood) who takes on the role of their son Luke (now 18-years-old) and Zoë Athena who plays their 16-year-old daughter Ava.
It’s five years since we last saw the Worsley family, caught up in the dramatic events at the end of season three — Paul and Ally on the verge of splitting up, Paul’s parents Jim (Alun Armstrong) and Jackie (Joanna Bacon) in turmoil, Luke finding a new relationship and Ava mending an old one. Series four of Breeders brings the biggest parenting challenge that Paul and Ally have ever faced, as 18-year-old Luke drops a bombshell at Christmas dinner that will change everyone’s lives forever. No longer in Luke’s shadow, 16-year-old Ava experiences her own bombshell moment as she meets and immediately falls for the charismatic Holly (Jessie Williams). Paul and Ally continue to try, fail and try again as they face these latest parenting challenges, while also having to support the increasingly troubled Jim and Jackie.
The fourth series was commissioned by Jon Mountague, Director of Comedy, Sky Studios and Tilusha Ghelani, Commissioning Editor, Sky Studios, for Zai Bennett, Managing Director of Content, Sky UK and Nick Grad, President of Original Programming at FX Entertainment. It is produced by Avalon and FX Productions for FX and Sky. 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®-winner Martin Freeman, who also stars alongside BAFTA-nominee Daisy Haggard. Executive producers are Blackwell, Addison, Freeman, Jon Thoday, Richard Allen-Turner, Rob Aslett, David Martin, Toby Welch and Michael Wiggs. Addison is director of episodes 1-5 and Ollie Parsons (Man Like Mobeen, Avenue 5) is director of episodes 6-10. Kenny Tanner is producer.
For further information:
Avalon
Victoria Wedderburn or Tara Dein
VictoriaW@Avalonuk.com / Tdein@avalonuk.com
Sky
Dominic Collett
Dominic.Collett@sky.uk
What The UK Press Said:
“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
“relentless brilliance… as poignant as it is downright hilarious, and this new series is the best yet… Paul’s mum Jackie (played by Joanna Bacon) might just be the funniest character on TV” ★★★★★
Boyd Hilton, Heat
“Daisy Haggard and Martin Freeman’s comic timing remains as sharp as a piece of underfoot lego”
Victoria Segal, 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
“At the heart of Breeders is Haggard’s easy chemistry with Freeman, as the stretched, sometimes beleaguered, often apoplectic parents of two kids”
Tim Lewis, The Observer
“brilliant, and series 3 is thankfully no different… perfectly captures the pains and strains between parents and their children”
Frances Taylor, Radio Times
“Breeders is filling the gap left by Outnumbered with increasingly enjoyable aplomb…a winning balance between poignancy and laughs…scripts are so reliably witty…Freeman and Daisy Haggard are both terrific as the beleaguered parents”
James Walton, The Spectator
“Superb black comedy…the present situation is juxtaposed with a hilarious scene from the past”
Joe Clay, The Times
“We love the slice of dark comic reality that Breeders offers…become such a phenomenon that it’s returned for a third series … its funny, near to the knuckle if you have kids, and addictive to watch”
The Daily Mirror
“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
“We’ve seen a wave of comical and ground-breaking shows about motherhood: BBC’s Motherland, Sky’s Breeders, and Apple’s Trying”
Charlotte Cripps, The Independent
“From screaming matches to swearing, heartwarming declarations of love to witty wisecracks, Breeders has been hailed from the start for being an extremely relatable watch…Another interesting storyline to watch was Ally going through the menopause and dealing with the HRT shortage, while at the same time, her daughter Ava has started her period. For want of a better word, I found it really refreshing because you don’t see that very often on TV, let alone done in a really authentic way”
Sabrina Barr, Metro
“We’ve got British TVs greatest comedy-drama back tonight. That’s easily the best news of the week…magnificent”
Mike Ward, The Daily Star
“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
“on its sharpest-ever form” ★★★★
Robin Wiggs, Daily Mail
“It’s the comedy-drama that gives you the truth of parenthood”
James Jackson, The Times
“Amazing”
Paul Flynn, Grazia
“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
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 UK’s 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 NOW
NOW is the home of brilliant entertainment. We’re one of the UK’s leading streaming services with critically acclaimed shows, new and exclusive movies, unmissable sport and epic kids TV – all with no contract. Join in with an Entertainment, Cinema, Sports, or hayu Membership to stream instantly across TV, mobile, desktop and over 60 other devices. Watch on the go and even offline with our app by downloading shows and movies.
Entertainment Members can enjoy critically acclaimed dramas, documentaries and comedies, Emmy award-winning shows, the best of HBO and exclusive Sky Originals. Cinema Members can discover over 1000 brilliant movies, from the latest blockbusters and classic favourites and a new premiere every day. Sports Members cheer on unmissable Premier League, international cricket, F1, golf and more – all live, across 11 Sky Sports channels.
Plus, members can enhance their experience with NOW Boost – that’s full 1080p HD, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and streaming on up to 3 devices at once, ad-free in VOD.
For super-fast broadband, members can enjoy a contract-free connection with a NOW Brilliant Broadband, Fab Fibre or Super Fibre Membership.
Learn more: nowtv.com
See what’s on offer: nowtv.com/offers
Follow us: facebook.com/NOWTV
Go behind the scenes: Instagram.com/NOWTV
Join the conversation: https://twitter.com/NOW
About Sky Studios
Sky Studios is Sky’s original programming arm across Europe.
We develop, produce, commission and fund original drama and scripted comedy for Sky’s 23m customers and beyond. Building on the success of critically acclaimed Sky Originals including Emmy-winning Chernobyl, Bafta-winning Save Me Too and international hits Das Boot, A Discovery of Witches and Gangs of London, Sky Studios is the new creative home of must-see Sky Originals, such as The Midwich Cuckoos, Blocco 181 and Souls.
We’re an agile Studio, seeking out the best untold stories from new voices while working in creative partnership with today’s best writers, producers, and on-screen talent to bring viewers stories they wouldn’t find anywhere else.
With commissioning talent and production capability across the UK, Germany, and Italy, we understand local tastes across Europe better than anyone else and have plans to more than double our investment in original content by 2024, fully supported and backed by Comcast NBCUniversal.
We’re also developing a new TV and film studio, Sky Studios Elstree, which is expected to lead to the creation of over 2,000 new jobs and generate an additional £3 billion of production investment in the UK creative sector in the first five years alone.
About FX
FX, a division of Disney General Entertainment, is a multiplatform brand that develops, produces, commissions and markets original programming for Hulu and the FX and FXX linear channels in the U.S., and Star+ in Latin America and Disney+ in all other international territories. The FX brand mark appears above the title across its entire slate of originals. Over the past two decades, FX has been responsible for some the most-critically acclaimed and award-winning shows on television. Some of the brand’s current and legacy titles include the dramas American Horror Story, American Crime Story, The Americans, Damages, Fargo, Justified, Nip/Tuck, Pose, Rescue Me, The Shield and Sons of Anarchy; the comedies Archer, Atlanta, Better Things, DAVE, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Reservation Dogs and What We Do in the Shadows; and a growing slate of docuseries and documentary films.
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 150 countries; multi Emmy-winning, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO); The Russell Howard Hour (Sky), one of the network’s most successful entertainment show launches since 2010; Starstruck (HBO Max/BBC), a sitcom from Edinburgh Comedy Award winner Rose Matafeo; Buffering (ITV), a sitcom co-created by and starring BAFTA-winning comedian and voice of Love Island, Iain Stirling. Breeders, the comedy series starring Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard (FX/Sky); the immediately recommissioned, The Chris & Rosie Ramsey Show (BBC); a brand-new series of the iconic comedy football show blending football fanaticism with celebrity chat, Fantasy Football League (Sky); 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), 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 regularly at the top of the UK iTunes chart with the multi-award-winning Shagged. Married. Annoyed by Chris and Rosie Ramsey.
As a leading promoter of live comedy, Avalon produced Newman and Baddiel: Live at Wembley, the UK’s first arena comedy show; Jerry Springer: The Opera, the first West End show to win all four UK ‘Best New Musical’ awards; and has continued to produce and promote live shows globally, as well as promoting more winners and nominees of the prestigious Edinburgh Comedy Award than any other company.
For Avalon news visit: www.avalonuk.com/press or follow @avalonent
