This Motherland spin-off shouldn’t work. As fans of Sharon Horgan’s Bafta-winning comedy will know, Amanda, the posh alpha mum played by Lucy Punch, was a side event. All phoney smile and blonde ambition, the character thought she was the centre of the universe, yet could never steal the spotlight from chronically frazzled fellow parents, Julia, Kevin and Liz. Now, Amandaland has arrived on BBC One, and the clue is in the title: the spotlight has been stolen. Noooooo! It’s like entering a universe where Charlie Bucket’s been gazumped by Veruca Salt.
Motherland was axed after its 2022 Christmas special pulled in merely average viewing figures. Arguably, lessons have been learnt. Where the final festive episode was bracingly bleak, Amandaland (written by roughly the same team, plus Horrible Histories’s Laurence Rickard) has a cosier, more romcom-ish vibe.
