IMAGES, LISTINGS INFORMATION AND TX SCHEDULE
Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard reprise their roles one last time
Oscar Kennedy and Zoë Athena join the cast
“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
[LONDON; 27th September 2023] The critically acclaimed Sky Original 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 will air from Friday 20th October on Sky Comedy and streaming service NOW in the UK and Ireland, with new episodes weekly.
The final ten episodes of the Sky Original 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 of the Sky Original 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, Hitmen, Revolting) is director of episodes 6-10. Kenny Tanner is producer.
Credit:
The final series of Breeders airs weekly from Friday 20th October at 10pm on Sky Comedy with new episodes weekly.
All episodes will be available as a box-set on NOW on Friday 20th October.
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
All images are available on Sky Editorial Asset Centre (SEAC)
Previews of all episodes are available on Sky Media Village HERE
Press Contacts
Victoria Wedderburn or Tara Dein | Avalon
vwedderburn@avalonuk.com
tdein@avalonuk.com
Mike Thomas | Premier PR
Mike.Thomas@premiercomms.com
