Motherland, series 1

Watching Motherland feels somewhat like how I imagine it feels to watch a car crash unfold. But this is disaster comedy that never takes the easy route.

Episode four of Linehan, Linehan, Horgan and Walsh's excellent comedy about the Ocado-flavoured trials of suburban motherhood, and Julia (Anna Maxwell Martin) is struggling to cope. In what is now a running gag, she calls husband Paul, who is super busy (read: enjoying punting and Pimms). He offers to send his parents to help, but Elizabeth and Geoff only aggravate Julia further, despite Kevin stepping in to offer his "expertise" with the elderly.

Motherland / Detectorists, review

From fundraising cash to buried treasure, these sitcoms are comedy gold.

Motherland: one of the best comedies in the last decade

I cannot recommend it highly enough, thanks to its knuckle-chewing awkwardness and leftfield casting.

Review: Motherland, episode two, BBC2/iPlayer

If you are or you've been a parent you'll love it, but you'll be watching it through your fingers.

Motherland's achievement: its near universal appeal

Both parents and the happily child-free will enjoy this borderline revolutionary BBC Two comedy.

Following last year's pilot from Sharon Horgan, Holly Walsh and Graham and Helen Linehan, here's a whole series, centring on struggling mums, competitive mums - and mums whose idea of party food is to mash "four caterpillar cakes into a human centipede". In the hysterical opener, Julia (Anna Maxwell Martin, amazing) still can't cope, having organised a "massive fuck-off" children's birthday do. Meanwhile, Lucy Punch's smiling shark Amanda is circling.

TV preview: Motherland, BBC2

The pilot of Motherland went out last year and was one of the best pilots I've seen in recent memory. But then that's no surprise.

Preview - Motherland

The first series of Motherland begins Tuesday 7th November on BBC Two. Here are Sophie's thoughts on the opening episode...