Peep Show

A new series of this comedy is in production.

A sitcom about two socially dysfunctional twenty-somethings who share a flat in South London. David Mitchell and Robert Webb star

Genre:
Sitcom
Broadcast:
2003 - 2009  (Channel 4)
Episodes:
36 (6 series)
Starring:
Robert Webb, David Mitchell, Olivia Colman, Matt King, Paterson Joseph, Neil Fitzmaurice, Elizabeth Marmur, Rachel Blanchard, Sophie Winkleman, Isy Suttie, Jim Howick
Writers:
Andrew O'Connor, Jesse Armstrong, Sam Bain, David Mitchell, Robert Webb
Production:
Objective Productions

A sitcom about Mark and Jeremy (Jez), two socially dysfunctional men. Despite having nothing in common they share a South London flat.

Wannabe 'musician' Jeremy is a lazy man with big ideas, mostly about himself. Meanwhile Mark is an astonishingly tragic obsessive loser with a no-pain, no-gain view of the world.

Their deepest, darkest thoughts and feelings are revealed as they try to find their place in the modern world and endeavour to find love and fulfilment.

New Series: In the latest series there's more than a whiff of desperation about Mark and Jeremy still sharing a flat in post-credit crunch Croydon. Having discovered that Sophie is pregnant they have to face up to the possibility that either one of them might be the father. How will this affect Mark's pursuit of Dobby? And will it help or hinder Jeremy as he falls for his dream woman; dope-dealing-musician-activist Elena?

Super Hans becomes a man with a van ('Get a van too Jez; we could be men with ven'), Jeremy owns up to watching porn to save a friend from humiliation at work ('I took the wank bullet'), while Mark discovers the truth about what it is like to work closely with Johnson, the boss he worships.

Our Review: Peep Show is without a doubt, most definitely, one of the very best sitcoms of the decade. It's just brilliant in every way. However, despite the fact it has a large cult following, Peep Show is unlikely to ever cross into the mainstream and thus will only be enjoyed by those who seek it out.

There's a lot of things which make this such a great comedy. Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain's sharp, dark, scripts and intelligent dialogue are definitely a major contributing factor. The unique filming style and being able to hear the characters' internal monologues is another; as is the performances from Mitchell and Webb who fit perfectly into the shoes of Mark and Jeremy, in fact it's such a good fit it almost feels as if they are actually like those characters in real life too.

Although the camera work certainly makes for interesting viewing it is a bit of a gimmick. Much more satisfying is the cringe-making embarrassment and excruciating faux pas inserted into the show via the dark and twisted inner-monologues of the characters.

Much of the show's humour is best described as 'close to the bone' so it isn't for the masses - maybe this is why, despite all the praise and press, the show has only managed 'average' audience figures to date (averaging around 1.5 million).

We love this show so much though, and thus are thrilled that not only is it currently back on our screens (with no sign of the quality having dipped - quite an achievement), but also that Channel 4 have committed to the show for at least another year and thus there will be a 7th series in 2010.