Sharon Horgan

Motherland, episode 2 review

Magnifying a very special hell in this messy mom-com.

Motherland: one of the best comedies in the last decade

I cannot recommend it highly enough, thanks to its knuckle-chewing awkwardness and leftfield casting.

Why Motherland may be a perfect depiction of parenting

Whereas Catastrophe hilariously captured the minutiae of married life, Motherland does the same with parenting.

Motherland review: A perverse comedy of manners

Please, do not watch Motherland (BBC2, Monday) while your children are in the room.

Review: Motherland, episode two, BBC2/iPlayer

If you are or you've been a parent you'll love it, but you'll be watching it through your fingers.

Motherland's achievement: its near universal appeal

Both parents and the happily child-free will enjoy this borderline revolutionary BBC Two comedy.

Motherland: a brutally honest depiction of parenthood

Expect terrifying alpha-mums, chaotic childcare and party politics, says Johanna Thomas-Corr.

Following last year's pilot from Sharon Horgan, Holly Walsh and Graham and Helen Linehan, here's a whole series, centring on struggling mums, competitive mums - and mums whose idea of party food is to mash "four caterpillar cakes into a human centipede". In the hysterical opener, Julia (Anna Maxwell Martin, amazing) still can't cope, having organised a "massive fuck-off" children's birthday do. Meanwhile, Lucy Punch's smiling shark Amanda is circling.

Motherland reaches similar heights to Fawlty Towers

Within the first minute of Motherland (BBC Two), a new sitcom from Sharon Horgan and Holly Walsh about being a mum and how bloody awful it is, Julia (Anna Maxwell Martin) is beating her mobile phone against a banister in frustration. It was hard not to be reminded of Basil Fawlty beating his car with a tree branch in vein-swelling exasperation.

Sharon Horgan and Anna Maxwell Martin interview

Sharon Horgan and actor Anna Maxwell Martin talk about their new BBC comedy and realistic portrayals of motherhood.