MOTHERLAND, BBC2, 10pm
THIS popped up as a pilot last year and thankfully was recognised by the BBC as a good ’un. Now here it is as a full series. I love it. It punctures the pomposity of the smug middle-class mummy.
Julia’s male boss reminds her that “women can’t have it all” and orders her to sort out her chaotic childcare.
For her daughter’s birthday she had planned to dump the brats at Pizza Express but is shamed by the vicious yummy mummies in her local cafe, so abandons the idea in favour of a party.
These parties have the consolation of “the drop-off”, whereby if she allows 30 mummies to drop their kids at her house, she will be able to claim the same privilege 30 times.
Her pal (played by the brilliantly blunt and dour Diane Morgan) brings “a bag of choking hazards” to put in the party favours, and she hires a children’s entertainer called Animal Man, who’s been labelled as an “unimaginative racist” in his Google reviews.
SICK NOTE, SKY1, 10pm
AT the slightest misfortune, some people immediately go online to start a crowdfunding page. Are they greedy, or is it simply a sensible way to let all the nice people show how much they care?
This new sitcom looks at the topic of exploiting such people, the ones who are always first to offer help and sympathy.
Rupert Grint, of Harry Potter fame, plays Daniel, a bit of an immature manchild. His easy life is horribly upset when he’s told he has cancer – but then we learn the doctor (Nick Frost) got the diagnosis wrong. However, Daniel’s in no rush to spread the good news, not when he’s getting so much kindness and attention from his family and friends.
Strangely, Hollywood actor Don Johnson has a role, and Lindsay Lohan will be in the second series. Does it merit all these big names? I fear this show might buckle under the weight of expectation.
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