Motherland

Sitcom about navigating the trials and traumas of middle-class motherhood, looking at the competitive and unromantic side of parenting.

Motherland (2017-2021) is a British sitcom created by Sharon Horgan, Graham Linehan, Holly Walsh and Helen Serafinowicz for BBC Two. Anna Maxwell Martin plays Julia, a harried mother at the center of a close circle of West London parents, alongside Diane Morgan as the wry Liz, Paul Ready as Kevin and Lucy Punch as the status-conscious Amanda. The engine of the show is the daily grind of raising children in a competitive middle-class milieu, where playground politics, school admissions, birthday parties and nursery run-ins become battlegrounds for pride and self-worth. Each half-hour episode is a self-contained comic skirmish, and the characters' small humiliations accumulate over three seasons into a sharp, affectionate portrait of exhaustion and friendship. The show runs as a short, character-driven sitcom in a tradition of irreverent British comedy, its tone witty, sardonic and unromantic about parenthood. Viewers who enjoy Fleabag, Catastrophe and the satirical bite of The Thick of It will find much of the same cringe-inducing honesty here.

Audiences broadly rate the sitcom positively for its sharp, candid take on the competitive and unglamorous side of parenting.

• Motherland (BBC)irreverent witty sitcom about middle class parenting rivalry and domestic frustration
• Fleabagfemale friendship and domestic comedy with cringe comedy tone about motherhood pressures
• The Thick of Itsharp workplace and domestic sitcom with irreverent mood and awkward social comedy
• Catastropheparenting and family life comedy with competitive suburban dynamics and deadpan tone

Created by

Sharon Horgan, Graham Linehan, Holly Walsh, Helen Serafinowicz

Release Date

2017-11-07

Episode runtime

29 min

Rating

8.0 / 10 (72)

What is Motherland about?

A cancelled British sitcom following a group of competitive, exhausted middle-class mothers in West London as they navigate the trials of parenthood.

What is Motherland like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Motherland as brisk, its intensity as mild and its storytelling as simple.

Is Motherland violent?

No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Motherland.

What did critics think of Motherland?

Audiences broadly rate the sitcom positively for its sharp, candid take on the competitive and unglamorous side of parenting.

Which shows are like Motherland?

Shows with a similar feel include Motherland (BBC), Fleabag, The Thick of It, and Catastrophe.

How long is Motherland?

Motherland: 3 seasons, 17 episodes.

Is Motherland still running?

No, Motherland was canceled.

Where can I watch Motherland?

In United States, Motherland streams on Britbox Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, BritBox, BritBox Amazon Channel, Spectrum On Demand, Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel.