The eagerly-anticipated second series of Motherland spin-off Amandaland has hit screens – to deafening applause from critics.
The Lucy Punch-fronted comedy has been branded ‘a triumph’, ‘defiantly daft’ and ‘the BBC’s best sitcom by a mile’ in a slew of four and five star reviews.
Amandaland follows the demise of Motherland’s snooty Queen Bee, who has moved from a lavish life in well-to-do Chiswick to becoming a single mother in the less-than-desirable South Harlesden – which she christens ‘SoHa’.
Lucy played the character in all three seasons of the original show before bringing the character back to life in January last year followed by a Christmas special, all of which won enormous praise for the thigh-slapping antics of the character.
Following Thursday’s return, critics swarmed to praise the show as the Daily Mail and the Telegraph gave it five stars, saying: ‘This show is bursting with invention, so full of possibilities that it crams three or four sources of fun into half an hour.’
The eagerly-anticipated second series of Motherland spin-off Amandaland has hit screens – to deafening applause from critics
Lucy’s performance was lavished with praise although her mother Felicity, played by Joanna Lumley, and Philippa Dunne, who stars as downtrodden Anne, were deemed ‘magnetic’ and ‘sterling’ as her supporting characters.
Series two sees attention-hungry Amanda has found her metier as an online influencer. It doesn’t matter that, since she doesn’t have any followers, she’s not actually influencing anyone. She has a lifestyle brand and ‘it’s all she needs’.
Reviewers have likened the character to comedy icons The Office’s David Brent and Steve Coogan’s legendary Alan Partridge in their cringeworthy lack of self-awareness, arrogance and poorly-hidden deep insecurities.
On the subject, The Guardian’s Rachel Aroesti writes: ‘Amanda slots neatly into a lineage of British comedy icons; file her next to the delusional, narcissistic, indefatigable likes of Alan Partridge and David Brent.’
The Independent’s Katie Rosseinsky joined in the praise, with four stars: ‘It’s relatively straightforward comic fodder, but the jokes are sharp and sometimes unexpectedly dark enough to puncture the cosiness (“Have you been DBS checked?” Amanda’s colleague at her “co-lab” asks her, before she promptly spits back: “Women can’t be paedophiles, Daniel!”).
‘And Punch, with her huge smile and doe eyes, manages to make even Amanda’s absurdities and insecurities endearing.’
Huw Fullerton for Radio Times writes: ‘That aside, this second series is a comedy triumph; a winning confluence of characters, plotting and gag-writing that makes a sitcom worth returning to…
The Lucy Punch-fronted comedy has been branded ‘a triumph’, ‘defiantly daft’ and ‘the BBC’s best sitcom by a mile’ in a slew of four and five star reviews
‘Whether you see yourself in Amanda, her friends, her mum or her kids – or none of them at all – it’s the kind of slick, relatable “content” that Amanda’s feed could only dream of hosting.’
The Financial Times’ Rebecca Nicholson said the show ‘continued to delight’: ‘Amandaland is best watched with a forgiving eye…
‘Think about it too hard, and you’ll notice that the vast majority of its jokes centre on millennials and boomers misunderstanding the internet, flubbing modern acronyms and being perplexed by what the younger generation is talking about…
‘Still, with its strong cast (Joanna Lumley remains on fine form as Amanda’s acidic mother) and its deceptively sweet mood, it already feels like a long-familiar comedy that is extremely comfortable in its own skin.’
One of the only negative reviews of the show came with a three star rating from Asyia Iftikhar at Metro, who mused: ‘The season fell foul to more forced gags and clunky joke-making than I would have liked…
‘[This made for] for an awkward feel for a few of the scenes, especially early on. The season does seem to hit a stride as it goes along.’
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