"I would die for these kids, but often, I also want to kill them."
Paul
Breeders is a dark Cringe Comedy series co-created by Martin Freeman (who stars as one of the leads), Chris Addison and Simon Blackwell, known for their work on The Thick of It and Veep. It centers on the Worsley family, specifically parents Paul (played by Freeman) and Ally (Daisy Haggard) struggling to raise their two children, Luke and Ava, while balancing their careers and their own lives.
The show premiered on FX on March 2, 2020 and on Sky in March 12, 2020. On May 18, 2020, the series was renewed for a second season. The second season premiered in Spring, 2021. A third season was later announced, and aired in Spring, 2022.
This series contains examples of:
- Abuse Mistake: Reconstructed. Doctors suspect that Ally and Paul might be neglecting their children due to Luke's constant injuries. While Paul isn't physically abusive, he does worry that he's "accidentally on purpose" hurting Luke due to being incapable of controlling his temper.
- Abusive Parents: Reconstructed. Paul genuinely loves his children, but he is also very hard on them and finds himself increasingly losing his temper with Luke.
- A Day in Her Apron: Paul is subjected to this when Ally goes to Berlin on a supposed "short term" secondment. It gets Played for Drama when Luke gets ill on Paul's watch.
- Age-Appropriate Angst: Played with. Luke was noticeably not angsty in Series 1, but come being thirteen, he is very anxious and depressed. Ally and Paul are generally very understanding, but they come to realize that Luke isn't well and that Paul's anger is making it worse.
- Black Comedy: The story in general is very dark. One episode deals with Paul's fear that he may have actually broken Luke's arm "accidentally on purpose".
- A notable example includes when Ally thinks Paul may have literally killed their children. He actually just took them out on a nighttime drive.
- Darren telling Ally he can "support her", then walking straight into a wall, while she's hysterically worried about her hospitalized son.
- Cerebus Syndrome: The death of Ally's father appears to be one, but the tone actually recovers from there to become more comic - the real shift over the last couple of episodes occurs with Luke getting ill, possibly with meningitis.
- Cigarette of Anxiety: Paul frequently smokes over stress about his kids.
- Distant Sequel: There is a multi-year jump between Season 1 and 2, ageing up Luke and Ava from a young kid and toddler to ten and twelve.
- Exiled to the Couch: A very extreme version that has nothing to do with Paul and Ally's marriage. Paul ends up sleeping on the coach in his parents' flat in order to make Luke happier.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Paul is a deconstruction. Most things, large and small, tend to set him off, and his rage always comes with a heavy bit of snark. Ultimately, while he's beginning to acknowledge this flaw, overcoming it is easier said than done. The deconstruction comes in when, ultimately, he's forced to leave his home when it becomes obvious Paul's anger is a trigger for Luke's anxiety.
- Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: All episode titles are "No ___".
- I Need a Freaking Drink: At one point, the garbage men are concerned about the large number of wine bottles in the Worsley family's trash bin.
- Men Can't Keep House: Paul's father can't (and seems quite proud of it), while Ally's father doesn't. While Ally also struggles to raise their kids, Paul's bad parenting is more aggressively on show, such as when he threatens to burn all of Luke's toys and how it's usually him who escalates his arguments with Ally. However, he recognizes these traits in himself and tries to be better.
- Mama Bear: Ally tells Paul that she feels she needs to be a "mama bear" in protecting the anxious Luke from Paul's anger.
- Nuclear Family: The central family: mum and dad Ally and Paul, son Luke, and daughter Ava.
- Offing the Offspring: Discussed and ultimately averted. As stressful and frustrating as parenthood is, Paul and Ally would never actually harm their children.
- Parents as People: A case where the parents themselves are the protagonists. Ally and Paul do love their children, but the stress and frustration does get to them frequently.
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: Both Paul and Ally, but especially Paul and the kids being around doesn’t decrease it one bit.
- Wedding Episode: Subverted. Although they've been in a committed relationship and have two children, Ally and Paul are supposed to have a glamorous wedding but it gets rushed through partway in Series 1.
- Wedding Finale: The Series 2 finale is set over Leah and Alex's wedding (or at least half of it. There are flashbacks to the night Luke ran away.)
- Women Are Wiser:
- Ally's mother is a verbally abusive know-it-all, but she did raise Ally alone after Michael abandoned her for no good reason.
- Ally herself is much more reasonable and calm when she deals with Luke and Ava, while Paul often shouts at them.
