''Parents'' is a

British sitcom A British sitcom or a Britcom is a situational comedy programme produced for British television. Most British sitcoms are recorded on studio sets, while some have an element of location filming. A handful are made almost exclusively on location ...

starring

Sally Phillips Sally Elizabeth Phillips (born 10 May 1970) is an English actress, television presenter, and comedian. She co-created and was one of the writers of the sketch comedy show ''Smack the Pony''. She is also known for her roles in '' Miranda'' as Ti ...

as Jenny Pope, a middle-class woman in her forties who moves, along with her husband and their teenage son and daughter, from London, to live with her parents in

Kettering Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located north of London and north-east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) of Ket ...

. The show ran for one series, broadcast on

Sky 1 Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

from 6 July to 3 August 2012. On 5 March 2013, Sky confirmed that Parents would not return for a second series.

Cast

as Jenny Pope * Darren Strange as Nick Pope *

Tom Conti Tommaso Antonio Conti (born 22 November 1941) is a Scottish actor, theatre director, and novelist. He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play in 1979 for his performance in '' Whose Life Is It Anyway?'' and was nominated for the Academy Aw ...

as Len Miller *

Susie Blake Susie Blake (born 19 April 1950) is an English television, radio and stage actress. She is best known for her portrayal of the snobbish TV announcer in '' Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV'' and Bev Unwin in ''Coronation Street'', which she played ...

as Alma Miller * Jadie Rose Hobson as Becky Pope * Christian Lees as Sam Pope

Episodes

DVD release

The complete series was released on DVD on 29 July 2013 by Channel 4 DVD.

Reception

The show was met with a generally positive critical response, becoming increasingly positive throughout its run. ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' called it "a broad family comedy, both funny and 'now'". Heat Magazine described the first episode as "good fun" whilst The Telegraph said it "shows some promise and boasts a good cast" and praised the writing, saying "the script is sharp, zeitgeisty, and just the right side of cloying". The Guardian was more critical of episode one, saying it "fails to make the leap from paper to screen" but responded much more positively to subsequent episodes, calling the show "an utter pleasure" and "beautifully written". The Mirror also praised the series calling it "very funny" and saying that "as well as a great cast, Parents also has a great big heart and it’s this that could keep it beating into further series".

References

External links

* * * {{Sky1 2012 British television series debuts 2012 British television series endings 2010s British sitcoms English-language television shows Kettering Sky sitcoms Television series about families Television series by All3Media Television shows set in Northamptonshire