Motherland

And little things like the school ringing her and it her husband about a missing swimming kit, it's eerily true.

I love Motherland.

It captures perfectly the pressure put on women (including grandmothers) WRT childcare and party organising/school shoe buying/attending parties are put under whilst he men fuck off on stag DP's and work training courses.

I've been watching the first series on Netflix and it really strikes a chord with me.

I much preferred the Australian series The Letdown (written by and starring Alison Bell). Sure, there are a few cliches in this too, but it has a heart - it really got me at times.

Brilliant series, loved it, all the cast were great.

I absolutely loved the character of Anna MM's mother, fed up of being used as childcare. She's hilarious.

Agree, the main character seemingly had no likeable qualities and loads of unappealing ones (even allowing for the usual WoH mum with a shit DH being shown as harried/stretched). So it seemed unrealistic for the other characters to be friendly with her.

I thought that was the point - she just disappeared as this hustler trying to juggle it all - there’s nothing likeable there just stress and hassle

I agree @minipie. AMM’s character was SO unlikeable it ruined the series for me. Being the main character I felt she needed to be a tiny bit likeable, instead of the two faced user that she turned out to be.

For me they never got the balance right when it came to making the characters real. Diane Morgan was fantastic. Lucy Punch was great too. The rest were just cartoonish - the drippy SAHD, Ann the meek doormat, the hard working/hard partying mum (her only good line was during the sports day).

I did enjoy it and some of the scenarios were totally real and plausible, I just felt that the hammy characters were too much.

Didn’t like it as much as I was hoping, mainly because of the main character (Anna Maxwell Martin) who really overdid the gurning and wasn’t a very sympathetic character. I get that she wasn’t meant to be perfect but think the series would have been more enjoyable to watch if she was just a bit nicer. Also hated the SAHD character, surely there could be plenty of jokes about the unusual position of a SAHD without having to make him a wet doormat.

Loved Catastrophe.

I quite enjoyed it, although found I identified so much with "Anne" (put upon friend) and Anna Maxwell Martins character that it sometimes became unfunny. I do like Diane Morgan though and wish she was in more programmes.

Loved it. I actually found parts difficult to watch as it's so relatable. Lots of similar characters round here where I live...

Liked it. Out of small kids stage but a lot of it chimed and made me laugh. Yes, stuff is played for laughs but rooted in shit that does happen all the time.

I enjoyed it. There's a Canadian show called Working Moms on Netflix with a similar premise which I really loved.

zanahoria the 15 minute pilot is on iplayer. She plays a chain-smoking, high pony-tailed enterprising chav stereotype.

I watched the first series because of Diane Morgan - anything with Morgan is going to attract my attention. I thought it was hit and miss.

Philomena Cunk though - calling the Bayeux Tapestry the 'Baywatch Tapestry', and describing it as 'Game of Thrones drawn by a twelve year old boy' - genius.

Actually, I did think Diane Morgan was quite good, compared to the rest.

Anna Maxwell Martin's character was infuriating - grotesque over-representation of the harried-working-mother role. The interactions with her mother made me want to scream! She (AMM) was obnoxious

I loved absolutely Catastrophe & This Way Up, both Sharon Horgan written / co-written so expected to love Motherland.

motherland, working moms, catastrophe and the letdown all allow women who are maternally ambivalent or feel like they are doing an awful job, to feel less shit about it. Yes, many cliches and/or flawed characters in all three but nonetheless, some truth in all three too and wifework/being heralded or restricted as a mother - all the bs could do with being called out.

Loved it.

I liked it on the whole, I found a lot of it relatable (the in-laws episode with the toilet flush) but i don’t think it would ever be that sort of classic comedy where viewers develop real affection for the characters... just a bit 2 dimensional I think, despite a good cast.

I really enjoyed it - yes, some of the characters were a bit cliched, but I thought the dialogue was funny, the performances were strong, there was nevertheless a realism to some of the stories and themes. Well worth a look!

Oh thanks for the heads up I love Diane Morgan remember being surprised she didn't get a writing credit for Philomena Cunk as she really seemed to own that character.
I like Motherland like all great sitcoms its about being trapped, motherhood is such a bond because we are all expected to behave a certain way. I think there are done good character arcs in s2 that show there are different ways of doing motherhood.
I wonder how they'd all handle lockdown...

I enjoyed it.

I liked the first series very much, less sure about the second but still watchable.

@EarringsandLipstick, you’d have hated the second series.