Cuckoo. Image shows from L to R: Ivy (Andie MacDowell), Ken (Greg Davies). Copyright: Roughcut Television
Cuckoo

Cuckoo

  • TV sitcom
  • BBC Three / BBC Three (Online)
  • 2012 - 2019
  • 33 episodes (5 series)

BBC Three comedy starring Greg Davies as the constantly infuriated husband and father of a peculiar family. Also features Helen Baxendale, Esther Smith, Tyger Drew-Honey, Kenneth Collard, Juliet Cowan and more.

  • JustWatch Streaming rank this week: 927

Press clippings Page 2

Maybe if Cuckoo had started life on BBC1, audiences would have grown to love it. There are funny moments, both when Greg Davies' efforts at parenting flounder, and when Taylor Lautner is hopelessly bemused by British customs. But a lot of viewers will have switched off wondering: 'What on earth was that supposed to be about?'

Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail, 22nd February 2016

Taylor Lautner is still struggling with British humour

The American hunk can't quite wrap his head around British sarcasm but insists he loves it anyway.

Carl Greenwood, The Mirror, 19th February 2016

BBC Three have brought back Cuckoo, a sitcom that is still named after a character who flew off into the sunset after the show's first series. I personally thought that Robin French and Kieran Quirke's comedy improved during its second run thanks to Twilight star Taylor Lautner whose Dale replaced Andy Samberg's irritating title character. I was surprised how good Lautner was in his role of the straight man up against Greg Davies' frantic lawyer Ken as the two formed a perfect odd couple relationship. We see Dale living in Shanghai and having to defend himself after conducting an illicit relationship with his boss's daughter. Forced to return to Lichfield, Dale seeks sanctuary in the home of Ken and his pregnant wife Lorna (Helen Baxendale) the latter of whom is expecting her baby any day now. As we're now on the third series of Cuckoo I do feel the cast are comfortable in each other's company and therefore the chemistry between the main players is superb. Davies and Baxendale are especially believable as the central down-to-Earth couple even if they both struggle with their West Midlands accents from time to time. Lautner is also great in the role of the rather simple Dale however I'm not quite sure how much of a stretch it is for him to play a good-looking simpleton. Whilst the cast are on form, the material is sadly lacking and there were very few moments during this first episode of series three that actually raised more than a titter from me. In fact the central storyline, in which Ken dreaded the fact that he would have to go on paternity leave, to be quite old-fashioned. In fact the central joke that it would be beneath Ken to look after his child whilst his wife deigned to go back to work felt like something from another decade and felt especially dated when you consider that this series is one of the first to debut on the BBC's new online platform. The final set piece, which involves Ken getting stuck in the hospital while Lorna gives birth, feels like something out of Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em rather than a contemporary sitcom aimed at a young audience. So, whilst the cast deserve some praise for working with what they've been given, overall the third series of Cuckoo hasn't exactly got off to the best of starts which begs the question why it got brought back at all in the first place.

Matt, The Custard TV, 19th February 2016

Online TV review: Cuckoo, BBC Three, BBC iPlayer

So welcome to the brave new world of BBC Three online. Except that maybe it is not quite as brave or new as expected. Hit sitcom Cuckoo is back for a third series of comic family chaos in Lichfield and, apart from needing broadband to watch it, not much has changed.

Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 18th February 2016

Cuckoo, BBC3 - TV review

Offbeat and very British, this heralds the start of BBC Three's online rebirth.

Daisy Wyatt, The Independent, 16th February 2016

Taylor Lautner and Greg Davies interview

Greg Davies tells us that he's "glad" Cuckoo is debuting on the newly online channel.

Tom Eames, Digital Spy, 16th February 2016

Cuckoo: How it became BBC Three's biggest show

In 2012, it became BBC Three's biggest ever sitcom, and in 2015, a third series was announced - but the path to success for Cuckoo has been far from smooth.

Morgan Jeffery, Digital Spy, 27th May 2015

Cuckoo returns for Series 3

BBC Three's Cuckoo is to return to screens for a third series. Greg Davies, Taylor Lautner and Helen Baxendale will all reprise their roles.

British Comedy Guide, 15th May 2015

Jane the Virgin actress Rachel DiPillo joins Cuckoo USA

NBC's remake of the BBC sitcom Cuckoo has cast Jane The Virgin actress Rachel DiPillo.

Morgan Jeffery, Digital Spy, 11th March 2015

YouTube star Flula Borg to lead US adaptation of Cuckoo

YouTube star Flula Borg will lead the US pilot adaptation of Cuckoo on NBC.

Ben Lee, Digital Spy, 24th February 2015

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