# Outnumbered (2007)

> A partly improvised British sitcom following a harried middle class couple juggling three unruly young children.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/11925

## Facts

- Seasons: 5
- Episodes: 31
- Episode runtime: 30 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy, family
- Created by: Andy Hamilton, Guy Jenkin
- Network: BBC One
- Cast: Claire Skinner, Hugh Dennis, Tyger Drew-Honey, Daniel Roche, Ramona Marquez, David Ryall, Samantha Bond, Jonathan Cullen
- TMDB rating: 8.1/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1086191/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: subtle
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: witty, lighthearted, whimsical, warm, chaotic

## What critics say

Audiences broadly rate the partly improvised family sitcom as a warm, witty and lighthearted take on modern parenting, with its ratings holding steady across five seasons.

## Synopsis

Outnumbered (2007-2014) is a British partly improvised family sitcom created by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin for BBC One. Hugh Dennis plays Pete and Claire Skinner plays Sue, a harried London couple whose days are consumed by their three young children: Jake (Tyger Drew-Honey), an eleven-year-old nervously approaching secondary school, the seven-year-old Ben (Daniel Roche) who can fib for Britain, and the regal five-year-old Karen (Ramona Marquez) with a gift for interrogation. The engine of the show is the daily pileup of small crises, from homework battles and school runs to bedtime negotiations and family outings, in which the parents try to keep order while their children outmaneuver them at every turn. Each episode is a brisk half hour built from loose, semi-improvised exchanges that feel observed rather than scripted. Across five series and thirty-one episodes, the show keeps a single continuing family at its centre, with recurring grandparents and relatives drifting through the household. The tone is warm, witty and lightly chaotic, with a fond affection for ordinary middle class British life. Fans of Motherland, The Royle Family and Modern Family will find resonance in its domestic bickering and its affectionate portrait of parenthood.

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