Amandaland review: Is the Motherland spin-off a worthy successor?

As she tries to get her "highly promising Instagram start-up" off the ground, Amanda has a knack of making herself known, not least of which with single parent Mal (Samuel Anderson), who lives in the flat downstairs and keeps receiving her never-ending stream of Amazon deliveries.

And it doesn't take long for her to reunite with long-suffering former bestie Anne (Philippa Dunne), who shows her the ropes, points out that the kids' school is famous for the Clockwork Orange torture scene, and tells her who the cool parents are.

It takes approximately two seconds for Amanda to set her sights on lesbian parents Fi (Rochenda Sandall) and Della Fry (Siobhan McSweeney), the latter of whom is a famous chef. In her eyes, they're her ticket to the higher echelons of SoHa society.

However, their free-spirited nature and casual parenting techniques come as a bit of a culture shock for poor old Amanda, who very quickly realises she’s a little out of her depth.

Read more:

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And as if she's not got enough on her plate, her mum Felicity (Joanna Lumley) is a constant presence in her life, desperately avoiding her carer – sorry, "PA" – Joy.

Spin-off shows can often be a bit of a tricky tightrope. To be successful, they need to find balance with the old and new, which is kind of apt, given Amanda's situation.

Thankfully, Amandaland manages to achieve this in spades, providing a fresh twist on the familiar humour with a new gang, new location, and new phase of motherhood to deal with.

Lucy Punch is incredibly endearing as Amanda, a woman who is, by all accounts, pretty insufferable and self-absorbed. Her absolute adamance to maintain the "unshakeable beacon of perfect mum" persona while constantly melting internally is both a great source of entertainment and at times heartbreakingly real.

Similarly, Philippa Dunne's Anne – whose bubbly, smiley persona is always just on the edge of a full meltdown – is almost anxiety-inducing to watch in the best way.

Siobhan McSweeney and Rochenda Sandall are also welcome foils for Amanda's neuroses, with easy-flowing Fi and hard-to-crack Della leaving the people-pleaser struggling to appease them both at the same time.

The writers' continued observations into the parent/child relationship, and the navigation around that dynamic as the kids grow up, is spot on.

While plenty can't relate to Amanda's middle-class social aspirations, we've all seen/been the parents picking teens up after they've tried drinking for the first time, felt the sting of parents crossing lines, or even just desire to find their place in the world even if they don’t quite know what that means.

Amandaland is an enjoyable and easy watch from the moment Amanda arrives on screen in her electric-powered Tesla. Sure, there are some jokes that don't quite land as intended, and other times the comedy leans too far over the awkward line – but so does life at times.

Overall, it's fun just to be back in this world, even if it is in a different postcode.

Amandaland will air at 9pm on Wednesday 5th February on BBC One and iPlayer.

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