Series one has proved to be one of the BBC's biggest comedy launch in recent years!
Motherland spin-off, Amandaland, launched un February averaging 6.4m viewers to date, making it one of the BBC's biggest comedy launch in recent years, excluding specials like Gavin & Stacey, behind Ludwig and on par with The Outlaws, so it's no surprise that today they've confirmed it'll return for a second series.
Amandaland follows Lucy Punch as Amanda, who in series one had to downsize and up sticks to South Harlesden, or as the estate agent called it SoHa (definitely not the area around Wormwood Scrubs prison) post her divorce.
With both Manus and Georgie at secondary school, Amanda had to try and get her head around raising teenagers, dealing with modern motherhood horrors like teenage drinking, fake Instagram accounts and eco anxiety. Not even a woman as certain of her parenting as Amanda could deal with those nightmares alone.
Amanda’s mother Felicity, played by the brillaint Joanna Lumley, was constantly around, and completely in denial that she was, in fact, lonely. Theirs is a slightly unhealthy co-dependent relationship based on backhanded compliments and veiled snipes about her new home.
After a brief spell of freedom, Anne, played by Philippa Dunne, was sucked back into being Amanda’s minion to help her navigate the social scene with the other parents at the children’s new school. Thank God for Anne.
The first series also introduced a host of new characters, including Amanda’s long-suffering downstairs neighbour Mal played by Samuel Anderson and JJ played by Ekow Quartey, the stepfather to Mal’s son Ned, as well as power couple Della and Fi played by Siobhán McSweeney and Rochenda Sandall and smooth-talking South African property developer Johannes, played by Peter Serafinowicz.
Created by Sharon Horgan, Holly Walsh, Helen Serafinowicz and Barunka O'Shaughnessy, Amandaland is produced by Merman and written by Holly Walsh, Helen Serafinowicz, Barunka O'Shaughnessy and Laurence Rickard.
Speaking about the news that Amandaland will be returning, Sharon Horgan, Co-Founder of Merman said "With any new show you put out there, your main hope is to make something you love and are proud of. The extra bonus is that it's a critical hit. But to have a loyal audience of this size is just beyond your hopes and expectations. The incredible cast and writers, director and production team worked so hard on this show and it's so wonderful to see that hard work pay off. Special thanks to Lucy for being the most extraordinary front woman and to the BBC for having such faith in the idea of Amandaland from the off."
To which co-writer and creator Holly Walsh added "We've been bowled over by the response to Amandaland and can't wait to get co-labbing on the next series."
And the BBC's Head of Comedy, Tanya Qureshi, said "We always had high hopes for Amandaland, but it’s been amazing to see how much viewers have embraced not just the returning characters, but the brilliant new additions too. We’re so thrilled to reunite with this talented team for another instalment of Amanda’s new life in SoHa."
Amandaland will return to BBC One
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