Why Motherland Spin-Off Amandaland Is A Must Watch
February is quite the month for British comedy: not only is Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy finally releasing right before Valentine’s Day, but the new series Amandaland premieres on BBC One and iPlayer.
A spin-off follow-up to Motherland, it stars Lucy Punch (A Series Of Unfortunate Events) as Amanda, who has now moved to South Harlesden following her divorce. Also starring Joanna Lumley (Absolutely Fabulous) and Philippa Dunne (This Is Going to Hurt), it’s now out – here’s all you need to know:
What is Amandaland about?
With Motherland ending in 2022, Amandaland changes things up and brings the posh Amanda, one of several characters inhabiting Motherland, to front and centre. Spin-offs often notoriously find it challenging to stick the landing, but not so with Amandaland, which retains much of the same relatable, sharp satire that made its parent show (no pun intended) popular. Executive produced by Sharon Horgan (Bad Sisters), Amandaland brings us up to speed with the leader of the “Alpha Mums” and where she is now. When we last left her, Amanda was getting divorced and forced to move out of her previous house- and has ended up in South Harlesden, or “SoHa” as Amanda claims it’s trendily called.
She’s moved to a different stage of motherhood, too, with her kids Manus and Georgie now older and experiencing their teens, as well as having been moved from private to state schools. Amanda, of course, has to deal with all that comes with the turbulence of adolescence while being keen to retain her social status following the move. Still in her orbit is Anne (Dunne), one of Amanda’s friends, despite the fact she’s treated pretty badly (to put it mildly) by her. [profile-link]Joanna Lumley[/profile-link] plays Felicity, Amanda’s mother, who’s back in the picture even though Amanda has concluded that her mum is a narcissist and a damaging influence.
There are a few entirely new characters, including Amanda’s neighbour Mal, played by Samuel Anderson (Doctor Who) and property developer Johannes (The Gentlemen’s Peter Serafinowicz), a love interest for Amanda, as well as Della Siobhan Sweeney of Derry Girls) and Fi (Line of Duty’s Rochenda Sandall), a married couple who Amanda meets.
Is it worth a watch?
Of course, Amandaland is a different show from its predecessor, so things are different, but if you loved Motherland then Lucy Punch’s spin-off is a great continuation. While there’s plenty of relatable comedy about the realities of being a mum, Amandaland is also a witty send-up of middle-class Britain’s competitiveness, yet still makes Amanda a very watchable character. As she juggles keeping up appearances, making sure her kids are happy at school, and her difficult mother, we see more to her character than we ever did in Motherland. All episodes of the show are now available on iPlayer, while it’s also airing weekly on BBC One.
