Netflix Originals usually get a massive marketing push from the team at Netflix but Cuckoo seasons 1 and 2 has arrived under the radar onto Netflix over the past week and has joined the Netflix Original lineup too*
Cuckoo’s seasons 1 and 2 have now arrived onto Netflix bringing 11 episodes across the two seasons.
Now you’ll notice that asterisk on that intro paragraph as it’s only what we’d call a partial Netflix Original. The show is actually produced and aired first in the United Kingdom under the BBC but Netflix has recently acquired the global streaming rights and therefore it carries the Netflix Original branding in many regions such as the United States and Canada. It’s not the first time this kind of deal has been made and not the first with the BBC either. Similar deals have been struck for streaming titles such as Sherlock, Peaky Blinders and The Fall to name but a few.
The shows premise is all about the Thompson family who unfortunately have to look after their new son-in-law Cuckoo who’s completely nuts and doesn’t have a job. He’s a nightmare. Season 2 swaps out some of the cast (Lautner in for Sandberg) with a similar premise only Lautner claims to be Cuckoo’s son. It’s all a little confusing but there’s plenty of laughs to be had at the epense of the Thompson’s.
We won’t beat around the bush about season 1, it’s awful. Andy Sandberg, who has only found limited success after leaving Saturday Night Live in the form of Brooklyn Nine-Nine is terrible in this. He’s loud and irritating and really spoils the first season for me at least..
The second season, and the one we suggest you skip to watching straight away, stars Taylor Lautner and does a much better job at playing someone whose primary goal is to wreak havoc on suburban England. Alongside Lautner and Sandberg in each season is Greg Davies, who along with his stand-up is known for his role as Mr Gilbert on The Inbetweeners. Davies is the real standout here and ties the whole show together to keep you coming back.
Season 3 of the show is just about to go ahead and premiere in the United Kingdom so we can expect that to appear on Netflix relatively soon after, with March 2017 being the absolute latest that it’ll be added.
You can stream seasons 1 and 2 on Netflix now.
