Fans were devastated when creators of the hit show Motherland said there’d be no more episodes after three series. But the good news is there’s a spin-off of the BAFTA-award winning sitcom promised for next year.
Amandaland will put the queen bee of mums, played by Lucy Punch, in the spotlight after her divorce. Co-creator Sharon Horgan says: “We have new parents, a new school and new problems to look forward to.”
While we wait for Amandaland, let’s take a look at what the Motherland cast have been up to.
The school’s self-confessed power mum Amanda will take a starring role in the new show, which sees our heroine downsizing and moving to South Harlesden (SoHa) after her divorce.
Lucy has come a long way since the days when she was Doc Martin’s receptionist, Elaine. When Motherland took off, she’d already moved to America because she kept getting cast as “posh idiots” and settled in Los Angeles, where she lives with her son Rex.
It was a good decision because the 46 year old has had no shortage of film and TV roles, playing Cameron Diaz’s rival in Bad Teacher as well as bagging parts in Nuked and How to Date Billy Walsh. She was also tough paramedic Jo in Sky comedy Bloods.
From the great historian and mockumentarian Philomena Cunk to hapless shirker Mandy, Diane Morgan, who plays super droll single mum Liz, always nails a comedy character.
The Bolton-born 49 year old, who lives in London’s Bloomsbury with her partner, comedy producer Ben Caudell and their dog, has admitted that filming Motherland convinced her she was right to not have kids.
Diane returns to Netflix on 2 January with a 75-minute Cunk on Life special and provides the voice of roving reporter Onya Doorstep in Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.
Everyone’s favourite harassed mum Julia is played by Anna Maxwell Martin, who’s graced the stage and screen in roles that are a world away from her freewheeling character. One of the most villainous is DCS Carmichael in Line Of Duty.
She recently starred in cosy crime series Ludwig opposite David Mitchell and wowed viewers in the gripping ITV drama Until I Kill You. She’s no stranger to the London stage, where she played opposite James Corden in The Constituent at The Old Vic last summer.
Anna has recently spoken of the pain of losing her husband, Notting Hill director Roger Michell, in 2021. The pair had separated and shared two children, Maggie and Nancy.
Julia’s husband Paul was always too busy working, go-karting or on a stag weekend to help out with the kids. And ex-Green Wing actor Oliver Chris, 46, has also had a packed schedule, playing smarmy TV presenter James Vereker in the recent adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s saucefest Rivals.
He also appeared in The Crown, Trying and A Very British Scandal. Oliver has a daughter with his partner, Wolf Hall’s Kate Phillips.
Canadian-born Tanya burst onto the mum scene as hardworking and hard drinking Meg and touched viewers’ hearts with her breast cancer storyline. The actress admits she’s nothing like her character and shuns tequila shots for early nights.
Tanya, 52, lives in London with her teenage daughter Willow and bull terrier, Bella. Recently, she’s been in Apple TV’s Silo and Joy on Netflix and you’ll see her next in The Girlfriend on Prime Video.
Their mother-daughter relationship might be fractious, but the perfect casting continues when Felicity, played by Joanna Lumley, comes to Amandaland.
This year, the 78-year-old national treasure took a look back at her comedy partnership with Jennifer Saunders in Absolutely Fabulous: Inside Out and played Michele Keegan’s scheming mother-in-law Judith in Fool Me Once on Netflix.
After playing try-hard stay-at-home dad Kevin, Paul Ready has gone for a range of roles that are nothing like his Motherland character. This year, he took on a meaty theatre roll playing The Cardinal with Jodie Whittaker in The Duchess.
His next film role will be alongside Barry Keoghan in gritty drama Bring Them Down, where he’ll play a sheep farmer.
The 45 year old is married to actress and writer Michelle Terry, who’s artistic director of Shakespeare’s Globe theatre and they have one daughter, Scout.
Good news for Anne fans: Philippa Dunne is coming back as the Irish mama and wingwoman/servant to her best friend in Amandaland.
You might have spotted her as Clare’s mum Geraldine in Derry Girls and she co-wrote and starred in BBC Four comedy The Walshes.
Unlike Anne, Philippa prefers to keep her personal lift under wraps. She had a baby during lockdown, who appeared in Anne’s sling in season three of the show.
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