BBC One viewers have hit out at the sitcom Mrs Brown's Boys following its rather underwhelming New Year's Day special.
One scene, in particular, has garnered plenty of attention and it involves Brendan O'Carroll's Agnes speaking to Eilish O’Carroll’s character Winnie.
The scene is accused of rehashing an "ancient" joke and led some fans to urge O'Carroll to "put some effort in".
During the conversation, Winnie tells Agnes: "You can forget about getting my garden done because my garden’s being done as we speak."
"By the council?" Agnes replies but the answer which followed appears to resemble that of a classic gag.
"No," Winnie said. "Believe it or not by the Gardaí [Irish police]. They said they were looking for some stuff."
The Mrs Brown's Boys New Year special hasn't gone down well with BBC viewers
BBC
Before long, social media was awash with complaints from viewers who claimed to have heard the joke before.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, one person penned: "God, that 'buried it in the garden' joke is ancient. Put some effort in, Brendan. #MrsBrownsBoys."
While a second shared an example of the joke in print but this time involving an Italian father and son.
They commented alongside the post: "#MrsBrownsBoys bastardizing old jokes as part of their plot."
A third fan also hit out at the need for new material as they raged: "@MrsBrownsBoys Just watched the NYE special Mrs B says the episode is set weeks after NYE, it lost its relevance.
"Not many laughs. Birdy is great. Bring in a new co-writer with new ideas. Two sons gone, what’s the plan? Enjoyed Xmas episode! #coulddobetter #BBC #MrsBrownsBoys."
Elsewhere, calls for the show's demise also emerged, including from a fourth critic who penned: "How has that tripe #mrsbrownsboys not been cancelled? It's 2024 and it's still going. Do better BBC. It's excruciatingly terrible."
And a fifth concurred: "Who at the bbc commissioned this show? Whoever's to blame needs to be sacked. Each episode is the same and the jokes are ALL 50 years old at least and the delivery terrible."
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Brendan O'Carroll (right) has insisted he'll keep making the BBC show
BBC
However, there was still plenty of support for the show, with one fan lauding: "Watching @MrsBrownsBoys the perfect way to ring in the new year!" (sic)
Despite the outrage, leading star O'Carroll insists there are no plans to call time on the sitcom just yet.
Amid the furore, he told the Daily Star ahead of the New Year's special: "As long as the BBC keep asking, we’ll keep making episodes. It’s down to what the BBC want and what we can plan around.
"We are definitely making more specials. Whether we do another full series or not depends on dates."
