User reviews

Don't understand the negative reviews. I don't usually watch anything BBC but this show is unmissable and Diane Morgan is a joy to watch.

But I laughed til i ached . I think we all know a parent or two like this lot.

After watching this, I thought I'd search around for reviews, I couldn't believe what I was reading in parts. Do people not want to be entertained anymore? This was the FUNNIEST thing the BBC have put out in YEARS!!!! And about time too. There were times I couldn't breathe for laughing and there hasn't been a comedy that has made me like this for a very long time. Ignore any pretentious reviewers who think they know it all this is FUNNY.It's going to be a tough ask to be able to write a series as good as the pilot but as long as the writers are given enough time this could turn out to be a real winner!!! Please God let this be so, as I'm sick to death of flicking though the channels to see only reality rubbish.

After seeing a quick clip of Motherland on Facebook, I knew I had to watch it immediately. I then binge watched all three seasons in 2 days. I probably could have done it quicker, but I was trying to be sensible and it was Christmas.

What can I say? This is one of the funniest series I have watched. Personally I could completely identify with the 'friends circle' because I was always one of the 'outcast' mums.

It sums up that school scene perfectly.

The acting was all great and there was not one single boring episode.

I truly hope this comes back for a season 4. I definitely need more of it, as I am sure you will agree with once you have watched the series.

I didn't know what to expect from this comedy and was pleasantly surprised, it exceeds any expectations! It's brilliant, so so funny, I was crying from laughter watching it. Uplifting hilarious series, absolutely fantastic!

Came across this rather by accident when flicking through the television for something to watch, and gave it a chance.

Motherland was far more funny than the vast majority of shows around at the moment. Far better than the toilet humour of many panel shows and the repetitive and predictable gags of sitcoms like Big Bang Theory and devoid of the cringe inducing snippets of canned laughter which nowadays run alongside weak comedies to make viewers think it is funny.

Motherland knew what sort of show it wanted to be and the story it wanted to tell, and didn't deviate throughout the pilot episode. The episode was full of humour throughout and enough drama to keep the story going and feeling fresh, and didn't have to rely on the old humour fallback of "child says something funny" clichéd trope, popularised by things such as Kids Say the Darndest Things and use effectively in Outnumbered, but the world does not need another Outnumbered.

Motherland was a raw, entertaining and an ultimately funny TV show, which I am looking forward to watching more of. It would be a real shame if the show isn't taken on for further filming.

The Independent says: "Motherland has so far wasted a real opportunity to challenge social norms and provide inclusive, intersectional representations of parenthood"

So I like it already! It might get even more stars when I've watched it.

I watched the first episode and thought, that woman is horrible. I've watch almost every episode now and I think they're ALL horrible, but I absolutely love it. It's hilarious. It reminds you that people never really grow up or change.

The funny lines come thick and fast from all the characters. Now that it's being rerun on Netflix/ iPlayer I could use subtitles to make sure I didn't miss anything! Anna Maxwell Martin is outstanding (as per usual) as Julia but I also began to appreciate the other actors and the script watching the second time round . Love it. Roll on Series 3 in 2021. 😂 There are also rumours of a Christmas Special next month !! After lockdown we need you Motherland !

Anna Maxwell Martin plays a frazzled mother working in corporate events and trying to achieve a work/life balance. It is not going well she brings her kids to school during the school holidays and instead of telling the truth she tells the teacher some lies about her kids being bullied which leads to embarrassment.

The writers, which include Graham Linehan and Sharon Horgan got one thing right. Maxwell's front seat of the car was filthy. A kind of seat that only exists if you have kids. The interior reminded me of my wife's car.

Lucy Punch plays the insincere even manipulative Alpha mum, leader of a clique that is rich and judgmental. Yet people want to be in her group of suburban mums including the sole stay at home dad we see looking after the kids.

Martin needs people to look after her kids, her mother is refusing to any more free baby sitting. She meets Diana Morgan, working class but cool under pressure like when she chops off her finger.

This pilot started of shakily as Martin spins lies about coming to school during the term time holiday rather than admit she forgot it was the holidays but it improves as it goes along and Morgan was the star of the show. Motherland really did manage to mix slapstick, comedy of manners, frustrated pent up humour and even visual gags.

I saw the Xmas special and thought it was alright so bought the first two series to watch whilst exercising during the lockdown. I'm unsure how the comments about not being able to breathe etc but it's slowish moving, funny in places hilarious in fewer but more the realism is interesting The first series is great, funny, well written, fairly realistic and enjoyable, the second was garbage, all the bits people enjoyed in series 1 dialled up to eleven to kill realism and make it a chore to get through. If it wasn't for Liz I think I'd have switched off, comedies rely on characters being likeable and whilst liz, Anne and a few others are Julia and Amanda absolutely ruin series two, they're both selfish nasty users that are genuinely not good people, I assume we're supposed to root for the three outcasts but especially after using the guy in the coffee shop, liz, Kevin, vile to her mom, somehow trying to play the victim when she just makes idiotic choices. She's so horrid in series two it's unreal, I went from liking her to hating her after three episodes. Honestly can't state how bad this series is written, I get the premise, but her attitude and treatment of others is inexcusable and just bad, whilst Amanda is played by the god awful actress whose ruined many a rom com I've seen her in, it's unrealistic that no one would call her up on it and take the ridiculousness of her actions, the ignorance, selfishness and acting is just awful to watch.

I'll see out series two, it's genuinely unfunny, for example a dad, obviously with gay undertones working in a child environment and speaking a sentence he verbalises perfectly later to liz but at work uses words to obviously imply he's a kiddie fidler is just idiotic lazy writing.

The humour went from effortlessly natural to ridiculous cheap and embarrassing

I was losing hope of finding something to really make me laugh since I binge-watched This Country. I like documentaries as well as comedies and that's all I could find to watch. But most of those at the moment follow pretty depressing themes and there's only so many you can take before you need some light relief. So I kept flicking through and trying to find a decent comedy I hadn't seen yet. None were really engaging me until I begrudgingly gave Motherland a try. I laughed out loud - alot- at the honest, good old British humour. Classic and fresh at the same time. I'm 45 now but it still rings true of life when I was a young mother, many moons ago. I'm currently sitting up at three in the morning, trying to stave off sleep, watching series one, episode five, as I've become addicted to it. I'm trying not to wake my partner with my laughter in the process. Definitely worth a watch. I believe it's written by Sharon Horgan which makes total sense.

I don't know why I never heard about this series. It is certainly the funniest pilot I have seen in a long time. Absolutely hilarious and fresh and real unlike clichéd Hollywood motherhood depictions. At least most mothers I know would surely identify. Really disappointing that there is only this one episode --looking forward to more.

Motherland Series 2

This really stepped up from series one, more anarchic, more farcical and tons more adult.

The script was tight and brilliantly interpreted by the whole ensemble. It treads the line of comedy and pathos quite brilliantly, my favourite thing is Julia's relationship with her mother.

This is really one of the best examples of modern British comedy that examines the anxieties of the snowflake millennial metropolitan bourgeoise. The one thing I hate about modern life and this comedy demonstrates this to a tee is the amount of guilt we all heap on ourselves.

Motherland - Series 3

Really great, this more than stepped up to the plate, it is so refreshing for a comedy to totally step over nearly every boundary and be so un-PC in a world where everyone is increasingly frightened of saying anything.

It was really a brilliant script brilliantly acted by the entire ensemble. However the scripts are far more serious and starting to introduce more touchy-feely emotional elements that are definitely not required. It is also exhausting to have near hysteria quite a part of the time.

Next a school skiing trip, exams, a calendar to raise money, cake break with food poisoning, looking after school pets in the break, school fashion show etc etc rather than mistaking hormone replacement patch with stopping smoking.

Lastly this show must be very very careful that the championing of women is not achieved by demonising or objectifying men. I sense that overtone.

Overall I loved it 10 out of 10.

I just love this. Laugh out loud stuff and just perfectly observed. All the horrors of the school gates right here. Anna Maxwell Martin is a dream, I love her! Enjoy x

Just finished the first season. It passed the time and there were some humorous moments, but not enough to inspire me to watch a second season.

It's also extremely repetitive, and I know that's the life of a busy mum - but all it's doing is padding out a relatively weak script.

I will say that the person playing the main character is a terrific actor and probably the main reason I stuck with it.

I read someone's review as this having filled their Peep Show hole. This show, although not the worst, could not hold a candle to Peep Show and bears no similarity that I can see.

I love this kind of humor! It's so spot on with mom groups and cliques.

This affords a few laughs and it is quite watchable but it is very predictable and full of cliches. It will have a mumsy following of course but I tired of it pretty quickly.

Ity contains some truisms but ultimately it is not realistic. Robotic characters and tropes you can see coming a mile off.

This is one of the funniest series i've seen since Peep show stopped airing. The characters are all hilarious, there is never a time where i'm disappointed when we have to be with a specific character other than the bitching from the over worked moms which comes out as angsty hilarity, your chest tightens with the darkness of the humour and the expectation of the dreadful thing they're going to say; Julia is hard nosed, selfish. Liz is sarky single mom who's had a hard life, and Kevin is a cringing, lovable, pushover, which emphasise the reality of school mom's. all the side characters are equally fleshed out and have there own awful personalities, but you understand where they come from, the sarcy backhanded comments remind you of my own experience as a child.

Look. This show is funny. Really really funny. But, as a new mum, seeing all these rail thin women run around pretending they're the typical mum is not just frustratingly unrealistic, it's damaging. Between laughs, more often than not, I catch myself thinking "what can I do to be thin like that?" Frankly, I'm tired of television shows not challenging our problematic beauty ideals, and continuing to promote unrealistic (for many) standards. This is particularly important when it comes to mums, whose bodies have often changed significantly, leaving us to come to terms with our new shapes. Do better, Motherland.

The characters are sadly so irritating and not likeable. The story plots and ideas are good to show the realities of motherhood that nobody talks about.

The dark humour is right up my street. These days i find myself hard pressed for a laugh that genuinely hits the nail on the head. This is exactly what I need.

Perfect comedy with great actors and hilarious plots. I laughed so hard at most scenes I couldn't breathe. Bravo BBC. Can't wait for the next series