The brutally honest BBC sitcom Motherland instantly gained a cult following after releasing the first series in 2016. While fans are desperate for more episodes, it was announced that the show would never return to our screens, but thankfully, spin-off series Amandaland is on its way!
As the name suggests, the show will spotlight the self-centred, extraordinarily confident alpha mum leader Amanda as she navigates her children's (Manus and Georgie) move to secondary school.
When is Amandaland coming out?
While Amandaland has no official release date yet, it's been confirmed that the show will air in February 2025 on BBC One and iPlayer.
The comedy programme is created by Sharon Horgan (Bad Sisters, Catastrophe), Holly Walsh (Motherland, The Other One, Dead Boss), Helen Serafinowicz (Motherland, Nova Jones), and Barunka O'Shaughnessy (Breeders, Trying, Motherland).
Speaking of the show, Sharon Horgan says: "I was genuinely sad having to say goodbye to Motherland. There's such a fondness for that show and those characters. So it was a real thrill to get to pick up the further adventures of Amanda and Anne, not to mention Felicity. Lucy, Phillipa and Joanna are top of their game in these roles and are joined by an incredibly funny and talented new cast. Can't wait to showcase the next challenges of parenthood and the very particular kind of friendship the school gates bring."
Amandaland cast
Lucy Punch will return as the iconic Amanda for the titular role, along with Philippa Dunne who plays Anne, Amanda's friendly and often overshadowed minion and Joanna Lumley as Amanda's mum Felicity.
Joining the cast are some well-known faces including Rochenda Sandall (Line of Duty, Small Axe) as Fi, Samuel Anderson (Gavin & Stacey, The History Boys) as Mal, Siobhán McSweeney (Derry Girls, The Great Pottery Throw Down) as Della, Peter Serafinowicz (Shaun of the Dead, The Gentlemen) as Johannes and Ekow Quartey (This Way Up, Trying) as JJ.
How many episodes of Amandaland is there?
In total, there will be 6 episodes of Amandaland.
What is Amandaland about?
We're plunged back into the world of Amanda as she tries to create a new life for herself post-divorce. The mum-of-2 has had to downsize to up-sticks to South Harlesden 'or as the Estate Agent calls it SoHa (definitely not the area around Wormwood Scrubs prison)', says the BBC.
She must navigate the stresses around raising teenagers that come with modern-day motherhood, such as teenage drinking, fake Instagram accounts and eco-anxiety.
While Amanda may be the mummy we all love to hate, Motherland viewers did get a glimpse of the character's relationship with her own mother Felicity in series 3, which could potentially explain why Amanda acts the way she does.
Felicity returns for Amandaland and she's lonely (although she won't admit it), and the pair have a co-dependent relationship in each other's pockets. However, she's still in top form, getting digs in and giving out back-handed compliments.
Anne is back and after a brief stint of freedom she becomes Amanda's minion again, helping her to navigate the social scene with the new secondary school parents. Thank God for Anne!
Amandaland: Will Julia, Liz, Kevin and Meg return?
Sadly, it seems that Motherland's beloved main characters won't be returning for the spin-off series, which is a shame, especially as Amanda had an unlikely one-night stand with Kevin (Paul Ready)—who's Amanda's complete opposite—while he was helping her get her shop Hygge Tygge ready for open day.
We're hoping that there will be a nod to him, Julia (Anna Maxwell Martin), Liz (Diane Morgan) and Meg (Tanya Moodie) along the way!
Arabella Horspool is a Commercial Content Writer for Yours at Bauer Media. She's a bookworm who is passionate about TV, film and theatre. She enjoys cooking, scrapbooking, playing board games and spending time with her pet dogs, tortoise and chickens.