The series received highly positive reviews from critics, who praised the humor and cast performances, particularly of Turner and Riley.

[1][2] Kath & Kim follows the day-to-day Australian suburban life of Kath Day-Knight (Jane Turner), her only child Kimberly (Kim) Diane Craig née Day (Gina Riley), Kim's husband and Computa City salesman, Brett Craig (Peter Rowsthorn), Kath's love interest and eventual husband who works as a "purveyor of fine meats", Kel Knight (Glenn Robbins), and long-time family friend Sharon Strzelecki (Magda Szubanski).

Storylines follow the characters' day-to-day lives, and document their personal struggles and the banality of their achievements and aspirations.

Kath & Kim satirises the mother-daughter relationship and the habits and values of modern suburban Australians, and emphasises the kitsch and superficial elements of contemporary society, particularly the traditional working class which has progressed to a level of affluence (or "effluence" as the show's title characters would have it) which previous generations had been unable to achieve.

They visit places such as the Westfield Fountain Gate (some parts filmed at Westfield Southland), the local IKEA, Target and various local restaurants.It also occasionally mocks Australian and international mass popular culture, such as popular reality television shows Big Brother and Australian Idol.

The crass and embarrassing behaviour of the characters, and their gaudy, out-dated retro fashion sense are popular features of the show.

Processed and widely recognised Australian foods, such as Jatz crackers, Tim Tams and Fruche yoghurt are frequently referenced in the series.

The characters of Kath, Kim (created by Riley and Turner) and Sharon (created and played by Magda Szubanski[3]) first featured in their current forms during the mid-1990s as a weekly segment of the Australian comedy series Big Girl's Blouse (Seven, 1994–95),[4] having appeared in a more embryonic incarnation earlier in the decade on the sketch comedy show Fast Forward (Seven, 1989–92).

Big Girl's Blouse had been deemed a failure by the ABC head of comedy Geoff Portman who wanted to pull Kath and Kim.

But it was championed by Sandra Levy the ABC Head of Television so Kath and Kim had the distinction for a comedy show of being produced by the drama department, and was loved by a very broad audience, including the "suburban people" it parodied.

[citation needed] A replacement of a full series occurred in 2005 with the telemovie Da Kath & Kim Code.

The fourth season of Kath & Kim began airing on the Seven Network on 19 August 2007, due to the contract expiring with ABC.

In late 2009, they announced that writing had begun on season 5,[6] but by May 2010, Turner said: "We sort of felt like it was the end two years ago.

"[7] The alternative vocabulary including the mixed metaphors, hypercorrection, malapropisms, eggcorns (like "ravishing" instead of "ravenous"), and mis-pronunciations of the regular characters are much repeated by the show's fans.

The home, located in Patterson Lakes, Victoria, 35 km east of Melbourne, was originally rented by ABC during the entire run of the series,[8] and chosen for its likeness to Sylvania Waters.

The repeats proved quite successful, with the first two rating 1.465 and 1.530 million, winning in a very competitive timeslot and being amongst the highest-rating shows of the week.

It features 21 tracks including the full length version of the show's title theme, "The Joker" (as sung by Gina Riley) as well as Diana Ross and Lionel Richie's "Endless Love" and Donna Summer's "MacArthur Park".

On 9 March 2011, Turner and Riley announced plans for a movie, in which, Kath, Kim, Kel, Brett, Sharon and Epponnee would head overseas on holiday.

The special will showcase a countdown of celebrity guests and unseen clips that didn't feature in the series, as well as the cast discussing their favourite scenes.

Michelle Nader developed the series for American television, which premiered in the United States as part of the Fall schedule of 2008.

After airing only two episodes, Seven dropped the sitcom from their lineup due to poor ratings, only to bring it back several weeks later as a late-night schedule filler.

In America, reviews were poor, but it averaged roughly around 5 to 7 million viewers per week, and was rewarded with a full season order in October 2008.