With more and more people spending their nights at home and demand for TV content growing, FX has a new comedy series that is absolutely ideal for a good old-fashioned binge-watch: Breeders. Starring Sherlock and The Hobbit star Martin Freeman, the show is a family comedy designed to delight adults, and the first season isn’t even over yet.
Yes, Breeders is a family comedy, but not in the sense that the whole family should gather around the TV for a night of wholesome entertainment. It’s an irreverent take on a family dynamic. Set in the U.K., Breeders follows Martin Freeman’s Paul and Daisy Haggard’s Ally as they try to raise their two young kids, facing challenges ranging from getting them into the best schools to getting them to fall asleep to not attracting undue attention for how often one of the kids winds up in the hospital.
In the process of raising their kids, Paul and Ally aren’t afraid to drop F-bombs, threaten their children without any intent to follow through, and put out their recycling every week with a whole lot of empty bottles. American viewers will recognize Michael McKean of Spinal Tap and Good Omens, although he won’t be putting on a Scottish accent to hang out with an angel and a demon on Breeders. As Ally’s estranged father, McKean’s Michael stands out from the rest of the grandparents.
Obviously Breeders has all the right ingredients for a good show, but why is it so binge-worthy? Well, the most obvious reason is simply that new episodes are available streaming as well as airing live on FX. At the time of writing, six episodes are up on Hulu, with more to come. With episodes running between 20-30 minutes, it’s not hard to get hooked in short order.
The first season is set to run for ten episodes, so Breeders isn’t done with new episodes either. Many TV shows are currently running out of new material, including some of the biggest on television like Grey’s Anatomy and the three shows of One Chicago. Between the existing episodes available streaming on Hulu and the month or so of new episodes still to be released, Breeders is a solid option for some family comedy, even if it’s not quite fit for the whole family.
For adults without kids, maybe Breeders could be a reminder of why social distancing could be a lot more complicated with some youngsters in the house. For parents, Breeders could be something to relate to, or at the very least shine as an example of how things could be worse. As long as you’re not trying to reassure your child that he’s safe from fire by scaring him about burglars and drowning, you have to be having an easier time than Paul and Ally, right?
In all seriousness, current events make comedy all the more valuable, and Breeders is a nice break with characters who can be surprisingly relatable at certain points while entertainingly over-the-top at others. Even the title of the show is proof that Breeders isn’t a typical family show about parents and their kids.
If you want to give Breeders a shot from the beginning, you can find several episodes available for your binge-watching pleasure on Hulu. If you’re all caught up or just want to pick up on Breeders live, new episodes air Mondays at 10 p.m. ET on FX.
