# Friday Night Dinner (2011)

> Two squabbling brothers endure their parents' weekly Friday night dinners, where something always goes wrong.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/31695

## Facts

- Seasons: 6
- Episodes: 36
- Episode runtime: 30 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy
- Created by: Robert Popper
- Network: Channel 4
- Cast: Simon Bird, Tom Rosenthal, Tamsin Greig, Paul Ritter, Mark Heap, Tuppence Middleton, Lesley Vickerage, Frances Barber
- TMDB rating: 8.2/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1844923/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: cringe-inducing, warm, sardonic, chaotic, affectionate, uncomfortable

## What critics say

Viewers broadly regard the sitcom as a warm, sharply written family comedy whose early seasons were its strongest, with the cast's chemistry and the escalating dinner-table mishaps drawing consistent praise.

## Synopsis

Friday Night Dinner (2011-2020) is a British sitcom created by Robert Popper for Channel 4. Simon Bird plays Adam Goodman and Tom Rosenthal plays his brother Jonny, two grown sons who are obliged to attend their parents' home every Friday night. Tamsin Greig as their mother Jackie and Paul Ritter as their father Martin keep the table tense, while Mark Heap's neighbour Jim drifts in and out with his own agenda. The engine of the show is simple and relentless: a single family meal in a single suburban house, where each episode builds a small domestic mishap into a full-scale disaster through pranks, lies, guests who overstay, and wounded pride. Across six seasons and thirty-six half-hour episodes it stays a continuing comedy of escalating awkwardness, with the brothers' rivalry and their parents' quirks deepening over time. The tone is sharp, warm and cringe-inducing, with a distinctly Jewish family texture and the affectionate chaos of a household that cannot quite stop bickering. Fans of The Royle Family, Gavin and Stacey and Outnumbered will find resonance in its mix of mortifying family moments and tender affection.

## Shows like Friday Night Dinner

- [My Family (2000)](https://ember.film/tv/608)
- [Whites (2010)](https://ember.film/tv/31293)
- [Him & Her (2010)](https://ember.film/tv/31142)
- [Breeders (2020)](https://ember.film/tv/78918)
- [The Royle Family (1998)](https://ember.film/tv/4171)
- [Still Up (2023)](https://ember.film/tv/134353)
- [Back (2017)](https://ember.film/tv/64197)
- [Fresh Meat (2011)](https://ember.film/tv/37252)
- [Outnumbered (2007)](https://ember.film/tv/11925)
- [Here We Go (2022)](https://ember.film/tv/123597)

---

Site overview: https://ember.film/llms.txt