Martin Freeman says he didn't want 'Breeders' to overstay its welcome

NEW YORK, July 31 (UPI) -- The Office, The Hobbit, Sherlock and Black Panther actor Martin Freeman says that, after four seasons, he feels he has said everything he wanted to with his FX comedy, Breeders.

"I, personally, love everything being as finite as possible in life and in art," Freeman, the show's star and co-creator, told UPI in a recent Zoom interview before the Screen Actors Guild went on strike earlier this month.

"My worst fear, genuinely, of anything that I've ever done is outstaying my welcome or a show or an idea outstaying its welcome," he said. "We're very happy to bow out at this time. It's been 40 episodes, which is a load more episodes of anything I've ever done in my life."

The fourth and final season of Breeders premieres Monday on FX and will be available for streaming Tuesday on Hulu.

Picking up five years after the events of Season 3, it follows seismic changes in the Worsley family -- Paul and Ally (Daisy Haggard), their 18-year-old son Luke (Oscar Kennedy) and 16-year-old daughter Ava (Zoë Athena).

Freeman and Haggard have enjoyed exploring the up-and-down dynamics of a family over the course of nearly two decades.

"It's nice to sort of go on that trip with people who you actually like to play -- characters who are likable with a family that's likable, as well. It has felt a little bit like a parallel family for me for the last seven or eight years here," added the real-life father of two children.

Haggard loved the time jumps between seasons it shows snapshots of this family at different places in their lives.

"You see a bigger expanse of their life than you would in a normal show," said the actress best known for her roles in Episodes and Uncle.

"You see them in so many different situations and so many different stages. So, you feel like you know them quite well by the end."

Now that Luke is about to become a father himself, it's the right time to end the show, she agreed with Freeman.

"This is the point when their son is having a child," Haggard said.

"We couldn't play any older because we're so young and gorgeous," she laughed. "It was always intended to end when the kids were at this stage. So, it just feels right and natural and this feels like it ends the story really well."

Freeman calls the idea of Paul and Ally becoming grandparents because Luke will be a father "a bombshell" announcement.

"He's 18. He's basically a child in Paul and Ally's eyes, and not anywhere near ready to do this. We think it's absolutely crazy to do this," the actor added. "But, also, what it does to Paul and Alley, as well, what it does for them as parents becoming grandparents."

Paul and Ally were figuring out what their futures might look like for them now that their kids were more independent when their lives take another left turn.

"They were just sort of settling back in together and finding a new shape and a new way of being," Haggard said. "Then, suddenly, this happens and they completely lose their footing. So, that's really fun to play."

Haggard said fans tell her they feel seen and understood by when they watch the show because it accurately reflects "the less beautiful side of of parenting and family life."

"People connect with that," she added.

Freeman said people feel less alone and guilty when they see how frazzled family members on the show sometimes express complicated feelings for each other.

"The more you love them, the more you are likely to lose your mind with fury at them at certain points, whether it's your spouse, or your brother, or your mom, or your child," he said.

"I didn't think this needed to be pointed out. But, clearly, it did because a lot of people have come up to me and said: 'Oh, my God, that's so great! I don't need to feel so bad.'"

Freeman said he thinks people needed that reassurance 30 years ago.

"People were more [accepting] of the idea that you can lose your temper with the people you love," he added. "It's called being alive."