AMANDALAND viewers blasted Motherland’s hotly-anticipated new spin-off as its first episode aired last night.
The BBC‘s beloved sitcom Motherland ended in 2022 after three seasons with the final episode being the Christmas special.
Its spin-off show Amandaland centres around the character of Amanda played by Lucy Punch.
She’s joined by the iconic Joanna Lumley as Felicity, Philippa Dunne as Anne and Samuel Anderson as Mal.
Following her divorce, Amanda has had to downsize and move from leafy Chiswick to South Harlesden, or as she calls it SoHa.
With her two childen now at secondary school, Amanda has to try and get her head around raising teenagers, dealing with modern motherhood horrors like underage drinking, fake Instagram accounts and eco anxiety.
Amanda’s mother Felicity is constantly around, and completely in denial that she is, in fact, lonely.
And it isn’t long before Amanda finds herself struggling to adapt to her new surroundings.
However, the first episode received mixed reviews from viewers with many feeling it wasn’t as good as Motherland and wondering why the BBC couldn’t have just renewed the original series.
One wrote: “This is rubbish, nowhere as good as Motherland.”
Posting an image of Motherland’s Julia, another fan stated: “Feel like pure s***, just want her back.”
A third declared: “Amandaland not ringing the bell at the moment, not sure the character is strong enough to carry a series – makes you realise what a good ensemble #Motherland was.”
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Motherland favourite rules out returning for spin-off after hit comedy was cancelled by the BBC” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6353763148112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]While another said: “Enjoyable but I kinda wish they had just done another series of Motherland.”
However, not everyone agreed and some fans found the new episode hilarious and a good watch.
One said: “Amandaland is so good, one of the funniest things I’ve watched in years!”
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While another added: “Thought it would be a struggle coming off the back of Motherland but I have to say so far it’s brilliant.”
Talking about the new show, lead star Lucy recently said “Amanda is living in an upper-level flat, with someone below her, which is a hard pill for her to swallow.
“The writers have been very clever because while it still feels like the same world as Motherland, they’re totally different characters.
“I was incredibly excited, surprised and intrigued to be asked to do it.”
Amandaland airs on BBC and is available to stream on BBCIplayer.