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Dark comedy about the eccentric members of the Flowers family. Maurice and Deborah are barely together but yet to divorce. They live with Maurice's batty mother and their maladjusted twin children.
“Family. It's no bed of roses.”
2016
An already black day for Maurice turns into a nightmare when Deborah, his wife, insists on celebrating their anniversary. And when Maurice's mother finds evidence of his misery, things worsen.
Maurice needs to be honest with his family, but under the stress of the gathering at the hospital, is steered towards a new revelation by Deborah.
Deborah's sister Viv comes to visit, stirring up the family, especially Deborah's suspicions that Maurice might be gay. Deborah needs to take action, but struggles to find the best course. Meanwhile Amy has a secret she wants to tell Maurice, but will he be able to return her honesty?
Maurice has been dropped by the Carols, while Deborah regrets her night out with Barry, so when Barbara invites them to dinner, it could not come at a worse time. Meanwhile, Amy and Abigail get closer, much to Donald's upset.
As Maurice makes a final bid to tell the truth, Deborah reconsiders her marriage and Amy makes a devastating discovery. Thankfully Shun has a plan to save the family - he just needs someone to listen.
The family is severed as Deborah considers her future, and Maurice and the twins struggle to pull themselves together without her. Barry gives Maurice a shock, while Deborah stumbles across something that calls everything into question.
Olivia Colman
Deborah Flowers
Julian Barratt
Maurice Flowers
Sophia Di Martino
Amy Flowers
Daniel Rigby
Donald Flowers
Will Sharpe
Shun
2018
Maurice is on medication and seems in a better place, Deborah's "misery memoir" about him is about to be published, Shun is drinking the summer away, Donald's set-up a business and Amy's band are coming to stay.
Maurice reluctantly prepares to pitch some new ideas to his publishers. Amy finds inspiration in the antique book which once belonged to her magician grandfather Felix.
Consumed by the fate of her grandfather and the intoxicating world of Baumgaertner, Amy seems to exist in a world of her own. Maurice and Deborah's relationship deteriorates and Shun is caught between the warring couple.
Hylda confronts Deborah about Amy's increasingly odd behaviour. A drunken Maurice throws a wild party with the Pink Cuttlefish Orchestra. Amy discovers the truth about her grandfather and the origins of the Baumgaertner book.
As the dust settles from recent events the family find themselves back together at the house. Deborah and Maurice slip back into their paternal roles, for the good of the children. Donald realises that his sister may also be mentally ill.
The unconventional dark comedy ends by breaking with traditional narrative form, stepping away from the present to remember Shun's arrival at a happier time and giving the characters the freedom to decide their own fate.
