David Farnor | On 16, Oct 2018

Martin Freeman will star in Sky One’s new comedy, Breeders.

A co-production from Sky and FX Productions, the 10-part series will expose the paradox of parenting that it is possible, in the same moment, to love your child to the horizon of the universe, while being apoplectically angry enough to want to send them there. Martin Freeman stars as a caring father discovering he’s not quite the man he thought he was.

Breeders is created by Simon Blackwell (Veep, Back, Peep Show), Chris Addison (Veep, The Thick of It, The Hustle) and Martin Freeman (Fargo, Sherlock, Black Panther, Captain America: Civil War, The Hobbit, Cargo, Ghost Stories), who will star alongside Daisy Haggard (Hang Ups, Episodes, Black Mirror). Executive producers include Blackwell, Addison, Freeman and Michael Wiggs. It is produced by Avalon Television, with Executive producers from Avalon including Richard Allen-Turner, Rob Aslett and Jon Thoday.

Freeman says: “I’m excited to be making Breeders with a team that can make me laugh while we look at some of the less-discussed truths and challenges of being a parent. I really love this project and am delighted to be working with FX and Sky.”

The series was commissioned by Zai Bennett, director of programmes, and Jon Mountague, head of comedy, for Sky, with Josh Cole set to be the commissioning editor. Nick Grad and Eric Schrier, Presidents of Original Programming commissioned the series for FX Networks and FX Productions.

“I am very excited about making Breeders, to the point of being told to go to bed and stop showing off,” comments Blackwell.

Addison adds: “It’s a treat to be cooking up stuff with my old comrade Simon Blackwell and the peerless Martin Freeman. We’re very excited that FX and Sky have agreed to finance what is effectively us working through some of our own issues in the form of 10 half-hour sitcom episodes. Usually you have to pay for your own therapy.”

Sky’s head of comedy, Jon Mountague, says: “Imagine a parent gazing lovingly into the eyes of their newborn – that’s how proud we at Sky are with Breeders. Brilliant scripts which see parenting through such an authentic and hilarious lens. Martin, Chris and Simon are an unstoppable comic force, but I can’t vouch for them as parents.“

Breeders will air on Sky One and streaming service NOW in 2020.

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