Back

Back is a promising imposter comedy

David Mitchell could just stand there and pull a face - you know, that face - and I'd be happy.

David Mitchell interview

We took the actor and comedian aside and talked to him about, among other things, his conspicuous policy of not taking cocaine.

David Mitchell and Robert Webb star in this new comedy-drama from Peep Show co-writer Simon Blackwell. Mitchell is put-upon Stephen, stepping uneasily into the shoes of his universally liked dead father, while Webb is Andrew, Stephen's one-time foster brother, returning after 30 years with a portfolio of lived experience and effortless charm. With a dark undercurrent beneath its cosy surface, Back could easily become a modern Ever Decreasing Circles.

Preview - Back

David Mitchell and Robert Webb return with a new Channel 4 sitcom from one of the writers of The Thick of It.

Back: TV preview

Back is not Peep Show: The Next Generation. But it also sort of is, inescapably.

Mitchell & Webb are 'Back' in Channel 4's new sitcom

So I'm happy to report that Back bucks Blackadder. This is a confident, charismatic opener of what promises to be a great little series. Here's to British comedy in rude health.

Louise Brealey interview

Louise Brealey talks new comedy Back, female Time Lords and the future of Sherlock.

The stars were supposed to be idiots. But Mitchell and Webb always look like escaped mutants from a brainiac breeding programme. Their new comedy Back (C4) addresses that problem by casting them in the same basic roles. Mitchell is Stephen, a nervous wreck tortured by indecision. Webb is Andrew, a vain, shallow confidence trickster. Peep Show fans will need no introductions. But there's more of a plot here. Andrew turns up uninvited at the funeral for Stephen's dad, and claims he was one of the dozens of children fostered by the family. By the end of the wake, he has smarmed his way into their home. It's a smart idea -- undermined by endless sex jokes and repetitive swearing. That's not so clever.

Robert Webb interview

"Men are embarrassed about even the best emotions".

Mitchell & Webb: 'We mustn't destroy all of our comedy'

In their first post-Peep Show outing, David Mitchell and Robert Webb are back with Back, a ghost-story about two brothers in a country pub. They rant about cream tea, the perils of Twitter - and whether sitcoms are doomed.