‘Breeders’ Season 4 Shines With An Epic Love Story, Teen Pregnancy and A Big Gay Crisis

The fourth and final season of Breeders accomplishes the impossible: it reminds you why Paul (Martin Freeman) and Ally (Daisy Haggard) Worsley fell in love in the first place. 

Created by Freeman, Simon Blackwell and Chris Addison, the FX and Sky One series follows a couple as they struggle with parenthood, their romantic relationship, and their professional lives. With a bulk of the episodes written by Blackwell, also known for his work on The Thick of It and Veep, the show balances explosions of laughter with moments of hard-hitting emotional intimacy. The first two seasons of Breeders are what I consider to be a prime example of perfect television. At its core, the dramedy has always been known for delivering a staccato of gut punches that leaves even the most stoic of people muttering, “Fucking hell.”

Breeders is one of the best shows that nobody seems to be watching (at least not on this side of the pond). The show generates little social media buzz and even less IRL buzz, despite being easily accessible on Hulu. From the anecdotal evidence I’ve gathered over the years, many people who started watching the show never made it past the first two episodes due to the show’s gritty and rather angry portrayal of parenthood (as a childless adult, the show’s radical honesty does not offend me). Personally, I had the honor of getting through those first two seasons with my dad, side-by-side on his living room couch, and then the third season via weekly debriefs through our cell phone screens.

Even the show’s superfans will admit that Breeders has ebbed and flowed over the years, particularly with Season 3, which I found to be gravely underwhelming. The show made a detour from its prior focus on Ally and Paul, and focused on its storylines about their children, which were great in theory, given their strong takes on mental health, religion and existentialism, but sometimes faulted in execution. But now, in Breeders Season 4, the show returns to what made it so delicious in the first place — its sweet and hyperrealistic portrayal of adult romance and the oftentimes dubious nature of the parental characters. This time, rather than than being at odds against one another (like they were with Paul’s anger management and Ally’s fertility issues), they are hand-in-hand in fighting their greatest battle yet: Luke’s impending fatherhood. Wait.. what?

That’s right! Season 4 finds us after a brief time jump for the Worsley family. The sensitive, eldest son Luke (now played by Oscar Kennedy) is a senior in high school with a pregnant girlfriend, and his sister Ava (Zoë Athena), who is a few years younger, is having a big, gay crisis. Over the first four episodes of the season, which were made available for review by FX, the two storylines bubble in suspense and threaten to disrupt the peace, without drawing attention away from the overarching premise, which is Paul and Ally’s decision to separate. 

Through artful flashbacks and side quests, the longtime couple reminds the audience why they fell in love in the first place. Their quirky humor and deep fondness for one another shine as they meet up in pubs and on walks to discuss their dissolving relationship without involving their children, and they decide to stay together until their children are out of the house. Rather than lose themselves in resentment for one another or in storylines of jealousy, this time together remembers them that they were always close friends, in addition to being lovers, and before the stress of the real world and parenthood infiltrated their relationship. As they are reminded of such, a tantalizing “will-they-won’t-they” narrative begins to take over, giving viewers the epic conclusion they deserve.

Paul and Ally are also reunited with a combined mission: ensuring that their children don’t mess up their lives. Luke struggles to do adult things (like learn how to drive) and compromises his education plans to make space for fatherhood, yet seems dedicated to the idea. And poor, sweet Ava is overly enthusiastic about her new queerness despite being told by her not-yet girlfriend that “coming out” is no longer the cool thing to do. 

The show’s greatest episode of all time comes with “No Dinner” (Season 4, Episode 4), which I like to describe as Breeders‘ “Fishes” episode (fans of another FX show, The Bear, will surely recognize the reference). The episode sees Ava wanting to invite the girl she’s dating to the Worsley family home for dinner. Ally and Paul take the news excellently, knowing that any big movements might scare Ava back into her shell. They remain calm and pull together a nice dinner, before Ally remembers that she had already invited her friend and previous boss Darren (Patrick Baladi) and his girlfriend over for dinner.

As expected, hijinks ensue and Darren informs everyone that his girlfriend can’t know he has children because she hates children. Then Susie (Andi Osho), Ava’s mentor from bible study, shows up, along with Luke and his unwelcomed guest. Ava takes this in stride, saying she’s excited for all of them to meet her partner, before she is hit with some bad news.

The episode dissolves into utter chaos over its 20-minute runtime as familiar faces pop up and each character comes with a problem of their own, and it expertly combines an impending feeling of doom with anticipated moments of comedic relief. In the final moments, Ally and Paul are allowed space to give their daughter guidance and assure her that she has nothing to be embarrassed about, which they fumble through, but ace it in a way that’ll heal everybody who has ever felt misunderstood by their loved ones. “At least we know you better now. Now, we know that you’re gay. It’s also not a big deal at all,” Paul assures his daughter as she cries into her pillow. 

She argues, “I want it to be a big deal. It is a big deal for me. Maybe that was my stupid mistake. I wanted you, I wanted my parents to be a part of this. I wanted this to be my moment.” Her parents continue to comfort her while missing the bigger point, which is that she’s finally demanding the attention that Luke has received over the last few seasons. While this scene is destined to leave tears in your eyes, the final moments of the episode will push you over the edge as it delivers a delightful surprise. 

It appears that Ava has the same problem that viewers have, and the same problem that Breeders has had over the last few seasons — it’s a Luke problem that can seemingly only be resolved with more Luke. Season 4 understands that and handles it with grace as Ava finally stands up for herself, Luke grows up, and Paul and Ally reignit outside of their children, while their children play the role of keeping them together. It’s like The Parent Trap, but for adults, and with willing participants.

Breeders Season 4 feels like it’s building up to a bang that’ll leave us craving more of the Worsleys, but more than anything else, it’s just great to see this series back on track as it looks to wrap up this tale in fine fashion.

Breeders Season 4 premieres with two episodes July 31 on FX, streaming the next day on Hulu.

This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, Breeders wouldn’t exist.