Outnumbered is a British sitcom about the Brockman family, starring Hugh Dennis as the father, Claire Skinner as the mother and their three children played by Tyger Drew-Honey, Daniel Roche and Ramona Marquez.

[8] The programme has received critical acclaim for its semi-improvisational scripting and realistic portrayal of children and family life.

[13] The three children are: Jake (Tyger Drew-Honey), the straight man of the family, whose teenage sarcasm and obsession with girls worries his mother,[14] Ben (Daniel Roche), who is hyperactive, a pathological liar, does unusual things (experimenting or, as Pete puts it, "roasting insects"), and is always coming up with hypothetical questions like "who would win in a fight between...",[15] and Karen (Ramona Marquez), who asks too many questions, frequently imitates a lot of what she sees on television (reenacting reality shows with her toys) and criticises nearly everything.

[13][16] Other regular characters include Sue's new age sister, Angela Morrison (Samantha Bond), and their elderly father Frank (David Ryall), referred to as "Granddad", who is in the early stages of dementia.

The writers also use the popular sitcom device of the unseen character in the form of Veronica, Sue's unreasonably demanding boss in series one.

Other new characters in series three include Kelly (Anna Skellern), a psychology student on whom Jake has a crush, Angela's new husband Brick (Douglas Hodge), who is an American therapist (later revealed to be abusive towards his children, especially 15-year-old Misty), and his daughter Taylor Jean, who wants to live with her mum.

[17] Also introduced is a campaigner against council plans to place speed bumps on the road (Alex Macqueen) who pesters the family.

They tend to be the same type of character—the smartarse who says adult things—and they are rooted to the spot, staring at the camera, because they've been told to stand in one place and say the lines.

The show initially received a mixed reception, though after the second series reviews gradually shifted towards a fairly positive tone.

The Daily Mirror found the mundane settings to be similar to the American sitcom Seinfeld, saying: compared to the ridiculous carry-on of My Family, it's much more low-key and realistic.

For every exchange between adult and child was hijacked by a crass sitcommy need for sotto voce punchlines and knowing winks to the wings.

A protracted scene in which 45-year-old dad (Hugh Dennis) was unable to wrestle a live power drill from the hands of 7-year-old son Ben (Daniel Roche), and instead had to, ho-ho, pay him £5 for the privilege, was emblematic of the show's dubious capacity for fake pay-offs.

[29]Rod Liddle, writing in The Sunday Times, praised the show, although he was somewhat surprised: "An exquisitely middle-class, middle-aged domestic situation comedy set in West London—and starring one of those bloody stand-up comics who now festoons every network, it really should be hated before it is even seen.

Start liking this sort of programme and you are an ace away from enjoying Terry and June and having a house that smells faintly of weak tea, Murray Mints and urine.

"[30] James Walton wrote in The Daily Telegraph that the domestic setting and more mundane storylines were a virtue, saying, "All of this feels both carefully observed and suspiciously heartfelt.

It doesn't avoid the sheer dullness involved in family life either—but, happily, depicts it with a winning mixture of exasperation and affection.

"[31] He did, however, criticise the scheduling of the programme saying, "Despite the very specific London setting, the series (shown in two batches of three, this week and next) will surely appeal to the parents of young children everywhere.