BREEDERS: SEASON THREE
Starring: Martin Freeman, Daisy Haggard, Alex Eastwood, Eve Prenelle, Alun Armstrong, and Joanna Bacon
Creators: Martin Freeman, Chris Addison, and Simon Blackwell
QUENTIN
In its three seasons, Breeders has successfully pulled off the ol’ switcheroo. What started as a fairly superficial dark comedy about parenting has morphed into a far deeper examination of relationships as a whole – parent to child, partner to partner, friend to friend. The series gets relatively heavy this season, but the fewer laughs aren’t to the show’s detriment. The characters and their interactions are so richly and realistically drawn that I feel connected to them as if I know them personally. At this point, I’m fully invested in this family’s successes and failures. Meanwhile, Breeders has quietly become one of FX’s best offerings.
JACOB
Season Three of Breeders cements, as ever, that this is one of the most underrated shows on television. The writing is clever, sensible, and, above all, consistently funny without resorting to having any single character act or speak unnaturally. The whole ensemble aces every moment, but it’s Alun Armstrong and Joanna Bacon who walk away as the MVPs this time around (while Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard remain magnetic). The series formula of first-half highs and second-half lows is starting to become a bit stale, though; I would thank next season to end on a note of optimism for a change.
