Ann Droid
Entry updated 27 July 2026. Tagged: TV.
UK tv series (2026). Boffola Pictures, Witchcraft Industries. Created and written by Diane Morgan and Sarah Kendall. Directed by Joseph Roberts. Cast includes Kathryn Hunter, Sue Johnston, Sarah Kendall, Diane Morgan and Paul Ready. Six episodes of circa 29 minutes. Colour.
Since the breakdown of his marriage, 42-year-old Michael (Ready) has been living with his mother Sue (Johnston) – 80 and for two years a grieving widow – but now, having patched things up with his wife and about to rejoin her, he buys a Robot carer to look after Sue. It's a second-hand "Ann Droid Z58/100 Basic Care Model" (see Androids), though Cass (Kendall), the delivery driver from A3botics clarifies "A little more than second, but hey, that's why she's such a bargain." She adds: "... a very popular model back in the day, in spite of some pretty catastrophic teething errors."
It is the Near Future of 2029: self-drive taxis and wheeled delivery drones are ubiquitous, and the most noticeable change is the common use of androids, both as workers and companions to the elderly. With a tendency to jerky movements and limited expressions – most commonly a fixed, polite smile – they are unnerving; though their owners, whether the old or employers, quickly learn to rely on them, despite the adverts which after singing their praises add the caveat "We will not take responsibility if your robot attacks or disfigures you."
Sue names the robot Linda (Morgan) after a sister she dislikes; Linda – due to a mix-up – calls her "Sue Sue Sue". Initially wanting to return her as soon as possible, Sue grows to rely on Linda, despite her literalness and inability to read the room; being able to infer from evidence leads to some blunt answers and observations: some Sue wishes were left unsaid, others for which she is grateful. Previously Sue's life had revolved around home, shops and the local charity shop, where her friend the morbid Eileen (Hunter) works ("Sally died." "Sally Harris?" "No, Sally Whittle ... Sally Harris is dying, Sally Whittle is dead."), but now Linda encourages her to visit a funfair and go camping, with mixed results. When, while camping, children tell her they like scary stories, Linda talks of Climate Change, microplastics in food and how their parents lie to them as they are unable to do anything about these problems; later she unwittingly gives a child Drugs. Next, Michael – replaced by a robot at work and discovering his wife's pregnancy had no input from him – comes home and returns Linda to A3botics, where she will be scrapped. Learning of her fate, and knowing Sue was unaware, Linda escapes to let her know – only to be run over by Sue, who was driving to reclaim her (Linda suffers only minor damage).
Though the Humour can be hit-or-miss and there are occasional tonal problems, the relationship between Sue and Linda is endearing: Ann Droid is a good new comedy series that contrasts the frequent selfishness of humanity with the selflessness of the robots. That humour is interwoven with its human characters' grief, fear of death and fear of being alone; dissonance can result, such as when moments of pathos are broken with broad humour. Linda has a habit of attempting to lighten the mood with upbeat dance music. Her behaviour is a little more robotic than the newer models, though it remains unlikely that they, save perhaps for the advanced "Romance Robot" (see Sex) could be mistaken for human.
As to whether the robots are conscious or are just programmed to appear so (see AI, Intelligence), Linda's personality does seem to deepen during the series; whether this is due to the algorithm refining her behaviour from experience or a sign of self awareness is unclear, though her escape to tell Sue she is being scrapped could be evidence of the latter; her response seems too frantic to be only because Sue was misled. The series' attitude towards robots is not hostile: the carers are shown to be beneficial to their charges and, given Michael's significant flaws, our sympathies are with the employer who replaces him – though we do learn Cass has a PhD, which might hint that the robots have led to wider changes in the job market (though, as her degree subject was Chaucer, it might not). [SP]
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