Mum

I somehow managed to miss this during its original transmission, so have just watched every episode and I have to say I'm hooked.

Cathy is recently widowed and just trying to get on with life, but it's the others around that keep throwing her curve balls, whether it's her well meaning son Jason, who perpetually walks around the house in his pants, his well meaning if absent minded girlfriend Kelly, or considerate brother Derek and his social climbing girlfriend Pauline. Cathy is the one who's world should have fallen apart, but instead is a level headed, strong woman, who is basically just a delightful woman.

Lesley Manville, an actress I've always loved shows that comedy is as easy for her as drama, she is superb. I'm hooked on Kelly's character, Lisa McGrillis is a delight with great comedy timing. The whole cast are great, the parents in law always cause a few laughs, so realistic.

I'm reminded of Grandma's House from a few years back, it's a suburban comedy, nothing slapstick or outrageous, just great character play, coupled with top notch scripts.

A joy. 9/10 Roll on Series 2 and 3.

I see that this show has divided opinions. Personally, I love it.

Season one starts with the funeral of Cathy's husband and each of the first six episodes are scattered through the next year at Cathy's house and follow her and her family. The relationships are beautifully observed with delicate writing and fine acting.

At the centre is Cathy (Lesley Manville) and Michael (Peter Mullan) whose will it/won't it relationship is developed with aching slowness and the depth of emotion is so contained that it's almost all in the smallest detail of the performance - glances and smiles, hope and frustration. There's a temptation to seek Cathy as passive and put-upon, but she has the measure of all the people around her and she deals with them on her own terms. She's no one's fool. Michael, meanwhile, is totally lovelorn but incapable of action.

Then there's Kelly. Kelly is brilliant. She's totally, hopelessly daft but as the show unrolls she's the one who deepens most - her relationship with her mother (in episode 3) and her conversation with foxes (episode 5) are some of the show's highlights. There's a bit in episode five where she asks Cathy if she's laughing at her or with her and, while we might have laughed at Kelly earlier in the series, there's no doubt we're laughing with her now - it's a very nice piece of writing and performance. Lisa McGrillis manages to be both maddeningly irritating and sweetly innocent in the same moment.

The supporting characters are also excellent - Pauline is tooth- achingly annoying and yet believably damaged, Derek is hopeless, Jason is useless and Maureen and Reg - Cathy's parents-in-law - are fantastically dysfunctional and grumpy.

Normally I like my comedy a bit more in your face than Mum but the quality of the performance and writing really raises this to another level. It's a show I find myself grinning broadly at from the opening scenes to the closing credits. I hope there'll be more.

Divided opinions, I see. Today, I watched episode 1., just to see what it was like. Two hours later, I'd exhausted catch-up, and am bereft. There has never been a TV character, (same name!) who is ME, before. She is me, and she is all my middle-aged, single, female friends with grown-up children. She's much nicer, and more patient than me, but that is my life, I swear. Apart from the patient, strong, devoted admirer, alas. There are criticisms above of the characters of Kelly and Pauline. I couldn't disagree more. Those women aren't just flawed and a bit annoying, like most of us in real life, they have a back-story that is rather tragic, and beautifully played. Beautifully. My middle son has an ex who is Kelly. The ex is a Ph.D student, but the life and chat and mannerisms are the same as Kelly's. Even the face, figure and hair are almost identical, but I can't credit casting with that!

OH, how I enjoyed it. Along with the laughs, I suddenly burst into tears at Kelly's mum's behaviour, and Kelly's reaction. That struck a chord. Have bossed my Facebook friends into watching MUM at the soonest opportunity. I congratulate everyone involved. Thank You.

I watched "Mum" on a whim and I was hooked from the opening credits (the "Cup" song is both catchy and apt for this series - you'll see why),

I'm familiar with both lead actors Peter Mullan and Lesley Manville and they bring heavyweight class ability to the rolls of divorcée and widow respectively. Now add in some younger talent, great writing, direction and production values and you know you're in the for a treat. While "Mum" is often dry and wryly observed, it's equally laugh-out-loud funny.

TL;DR version (there are lots of long reviews) if you like beautifully-observed, family dynamic comedy of the type only the Brits are good at, this is a a delight. With a colourful cast of larger-than-life oddballs, Manville and Mullan lead us through a year in the life of the world's most tolerant widow.

Just be thankful you're not there and please, do make your tea in a pot!

I loved Him & Her, and going into Mum I had no clue it was the same writer/creator, but you can feel it when you watch, almost as if the two are related in some way.

The pacing is excellent and the characters are so wonderfully realised. Casting is top notch and Kelly is equally one of the most endearing and irritating characters I've ever watched.

So surprised by how much I enjoyed this show, everything about it was enjoyable, including the soundtrack. S2E6 just made me cry and cheer, out loud, like a freakin' crazy person. you have to give props to a show that balances bitter/sweet so well.

Watch this. You won't regret it.