Steve Pemberton

First in an anthology squeezed from the brains of Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, with each darkly diverse tale unfolding within a different residence numbered nine. In this opener, which features Katherine Parkinson, Anne Reid and Timothy West, a country manor hosts an uncomfortable game of sardines between a family long since grown apart. A slow burner compared with the episodes that follow, but a decent introduction to a series stylistically similar to criminally disregarded Dawn French vehicle Murder Most Horrid.

Radio Times review

Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith return. If their last macabre comedy drama, Psychoville, was slightly weighed down by servicing a tricky overarching storyline, there's no such problem here since this is a series of one-offs, set in a variety of homes that all happen to be number nine on their street.

The opener is confined not just to a house, but to one room in a fusty old family mansion. And mostly, we're in the wardrobe: two grown-up siblings who used to live here (Pemberton and Katherine Parkinson) are celebrating her engagement with a party - and a game of sardines. As more guests squeeze in, everyone gets less and less comfortable, until the bickering turns to bile.

It's a vicious little one-act, one-room play, deftly staged and superbly acted by a cast that also includes Anne Reid, Anna Chancellor, Timothy West and Tim Key.

New interview: Reece Shearsmith & Steve Pemberton

Be still my beating heart. Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith return to our screens with Inside No. 9, six self-contained comedies with some delicious shocks and surprises. They talk about the series, their other plans and the inevitable prospect of a League of Gentlemen reunion.

Inside No. 9, BBC Two, review

Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith's new comedy is a top-notch, twisted tale that couldn't have come from any other writing team.

Inside No. 9 preview

The way Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton write means that you don't need a whole series to get to know and love the characters, as you get to know them pretty well in the half hour episode and there's something quite nice about seeing a snapshot of their life.

Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton discuss new show

"We hope there's an 'oh my God' moment. There is always a desire to wrong-foot the viewer. That's what you strive to do."

Inside No. 9 is magnificent. It is the latest series to emerge from the dark imaginations of Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton, the pair who were also responsible for Psychoville & The League of Gentlemen (with Mark Gatiss and Jeremy Dyson).

Their new series consists of six self-contained, bleakly comic dramas set in six very different No 9s, ranging from a suburban home to a country pile. Like all the best short stories or one-act plays, tonight's episode works with a deceptive and outrageous simplicity. A group of characters are playing a game of sardines. One after the other, they squeeze into a cupboard. Some are partners. Some are engaged. Some are work colleagues. Some have ugly histories in common, and one is a stranger to hygiene. Between them, they cover a wide variety of social backgrounds, sexual orientations and age groups. If a bomb dropped on the cupboard where they were hiding, a good portion of the acting talent in this country would be wiped out.

The high quality ensemble includes Anne Reid, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Katherine Parkinson, Anna Chancellor and Timothy West, all of whom squeeze in alongside Pemberton and Shearsmith. However, this isn't just an inspired set-up performed by a stellar cast, it builds to a macabre and horribly imagined climax.

Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton interview

"When Gemma Arterton said yes, we were quite surprised, because she's a big movie star. She just said, 'Well I don't read scripts like this' and that made us feel very excited."

Inside No. 9 review

Inside No. 9 played with familiar themes Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith have dealt with in the past, but it had a sustained air of maturity about it that's felt only fleeting in their previous work.