Breeders is a British dark comedy 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, along with Daisy Haggard, and is also an executive producer on the show along with Addison and Blackwell.
The series premiered on March 2, 2020, on the American cable network FX, and on the British network Sky One on March 12, 2020. The second series premiered in March 2021, and the third series in May 2022. The fourth and final series, premiered in July 2023.
Contents
Cast and characters
Main
Martin Freeman as Paul Worsley, a father of two and Ally's partner. He has worked in an office job at a charity for around twenty years, making him its longest-serving employee. Despite his caring and protective nature, he also has anger management issues relating to his two children, which sees him smoking cigarettes and lashing out at his family. His rage later becomes so bad he is forced to temporarily leave his home after his teenage son, Luke, begins to develop anxiety over Paul's temper.
Daisy Haggard as Ally Grant, a mother of two and Paul's partner. She worked for, and later became partner at a sound studio firm.
Supporting
George Wakeman (series 1; guest series 2–3), Alex Eastwood (series 2–3) and Oscar Kennedy (series 4) as Luke, Paul and Ally's son
Jayda Eyles (series 1; guest series 2–3), Eve Prenelle (series 2–3) and Zoë Athena (series 4) as Ava, Paul and Ally's daughter
Joanna Bacon as Jackie Worsley, Paul's mother
Alun Armstrong as Jim Worsley, Paul's father
Stella Gonet as Leah Grant, Ally's mother
Patrick Baladi as Darren, Paul and Ally's friend and Ally's boss, then business partner
Michael McKean as Michael Grant (series 1), Ally's estranged father
Recurring
Tim Steed as Carl, Paul and Ally's next-door neighbour
Hugh Quarshie as Alex (series 2–3), Leah's new husband
Jordan A. Nash as Jacob (series 2–3), Luke's friend
Aliyah Sesay (series 2–3) and Ruby Fubara (series 4) as Grace, Ava's friend
Sally Phillips as Gabby (series 3), Leah's neighbour
Andi Osho as Susie (series 3–4)
Deepica Stephen as Maya (series 4), Luke's girlfriend
Jessie Williams as Holly (series 4)
Episodes
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. 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. On January 20, 2020, FX announced that the series would premiere on March 2, 2020.
On May 18, 2020, the series was renewed for a second series which premiered on March 22, 2021. On May 27, 2021, the series was renewed for a third series. On July 19, 2022, the series was renewed for a fourth series. On June 28, 2023, it was announced that the fourth series would be the final series and premiere on July 31, 2023.
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. 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.
Filming
Filming for the second series had been delayed by sixteen weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the delay, filming for the second series began on September 1, 2020, in London, and concluded production on December 18, 2020. series 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. In Bulgaria and Poland, the series airs on HBO Europe. 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, the third series 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 first series has a score of 83% with an average score of 6.8/10, based on 35 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "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." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, has assigned the first series a score of 65 out of 100 based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Rotten Tomatoes gave the second series a score of 100% with an average score of 8/10, based on 7 reviews. The third series has a score of 100% with an average score of 8/10, based on 5 reviews.
