Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard comedy to return to Sky

Sky has confirmed a second series of Breeders – seven weeks after Chortle first broke the news.

The comedy series stars Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard as a couple struggling through parenthood.

Created by Freeman and written with Chris Addison and Simon Blackwell, the series will return for a further ten episodes. 

The show is produced by Avalon and also airs on the American cable network FX.

Freeman said: ‘So pleased we get another go at Breeders. I reckon the next one will be even better. It’s such a pleasure working with this team... we’ll see you all soon. Well, not soon. But at some point, honest."

Addison added: ‘We’re absolutely thrilled that Sky and FX have decided to let us torture Paul and Ally a bit more with another season of parenting trauma. That’s entirely because we’ve got more of the story we’re excited to tell and definitely not just because it’s basically free therapy for us. I flatly deny that.’

The first series, which began in March and is still available on demand, was largely hailed by critics, and has an 81 per cent positive score on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.  The Observer called it 'a triumph', while conceding that 'it's not a cosy watch'. The Daily Mail agreed that it was 'darkly funny', suggesting that it was bleaker than other cynical, parenting sitcoms such as Motherland and Outnumbered.

The Times said it was 'terrific: dark, fresh, brutal, funny, a little twisted (always a good thing) and very sweary' while the Mail onSunday praised the 'finely tuned double act' of Freeman and Haggard for 'playing off each other with exquisite timing'.

The Independent was more measured, feeling that ‘the very richness of the writing and the smoothness of the dialogue makes it feel just a touch too artificial', while The Telegraph was disappointed, comparing the show unfavourably to Motherland and Catastrophe.

You can read Chortle's four-star review, praising it for being 'rich with memorable scenes and witty lines', here. 

Jon Mountague, director of comedy for Sky Studios, said: ‘With scripts of this calibre, hilarity and honesty, and a cast lead by the uniquely relatable Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard, it’s no surprise Breeders struck such a huge chord with viewers. Hats off to Simon Blackwell, Chris Addison and the team – we can’t wait to give birth to a second series.’

Made by: Avalon
Showrunner: Simon Blackwell
Created by: Simon Blackwell, Chris Addison and Martin Freeman.
Executive producers: Simon Blackwell, Chris Addison, Martin Freeman, Richard Allen-Turner, Rob Aslett, David Martin, Jon Thoday, Toby Welch and Michael Wiggs.
Co-executive producers: Ben Palmer, Tilusha Ghelani
Sky commissioning editor: Tilusha Ghelani

Published: 18 May 2020