Father doesn’t know best: Martin Freeman’s ‘Breeders’ returns to FX
In the early days of television, TV dads always seemed to know just what to do. They would calmly dole out wit and wisdom on shows such as “Leave It to Beaver,” “Father Knows Best” and “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” However, today’s TV fathers may not always know best, and one show is following a dad who’s admittedly far from perfect.
Emmy winner Martin Freeman (“Fargo”) reprises his role as Paul Worsley, a father of two who struggles to keep it together as his kids endlessly push his buttons, in Season 2 of the dark comedy “Breeders,” premiering Monday, March 22, on FX. A coproduction of FX Productions,
Avalon Television and Sky Original Productions, the series also stars Daisy Haggard (“Back to Life”) as Paul’s wife, Ally.
Martin is not only one of the stars of the series, he is also one of the show’s creators. The actor claims he had been inspired to create the show after having a dream about yelling at his children. He explained the premise in an interview with Variety when the first season of “Breeders” premiered in March 2020.
“It doesn’t tip over into being actually traumatic, but it should ring bells as far as the things that don’t make you proud as a parent — the things that you don’t even necessarily bring up at dinner parties,” Freeman said. “We decided to bring it up on TV instead.”
Chris Addison (“Mock of the
Week”) and Simon Blackwell (“Veep”) are also credited as co-creators of the series, and Blackwell serves as the showrunner. The series has officially been in the works since March 2018, though it was originally attached to FX and BBC. By October of that year, Sky had replaced BBC, and “Breeders” received a 10-episode order.
According to the official FX website, the show is about “the parental paradox that you’d happily die for your children but quite often also want to kill them.” In the first season, Paul and Ally dealt with the very real pressures of modern-day parenting while trying to stay connected romantically, work full time and maintain their sanity, which, as just about any parent can attest, is no small feat.