Inside No. 9

Reece Shearsmith on crafting Inside No. 9

Digital Spy spoke to series co-creator, writer, performer and first-time director Shearsmith about how series two was crafted - and whether a third might be in the works.

Inside No 9 - Series 2 DVD review

With some vaguely insightful behind the scenes featurettes for each episode, this is ultimately a superb series of comic anthologies. Let us hope there will be more.

Review: Inside No. 9, Seance Time

No official word has yet come out about another series, but with its consistent quality, and growing critical acclaim, it would seem ludicrous not to bet on its return.

Inside No. 9 - Séance Time review

The BBC don't appear to have enough faith in this series, but if they have any sense they'll realise it's one of their comedy jewels and deserving of some support.

Inside No. 9 ended its run with a story that, I kid you not, had me waking up and fretting in the middle of the night.

A timid girl was shown into the house of a renowned medium. No sooner had their consultation began than a series of terrifying events took place. A candle shot into four-foot flames as the voice of a growling demon issued forth from the smoking mouth of the frail lady medium. Then the lights went on and the whole thing was revealed to be a stunt for a particularly cruel type of reality show called Scaredy-Cam.

The ugliness lingered, ghost-like, even when the cameras had gone off. The host, played by Reece Shearsmith, was an arrogant beast, the medium was a self-obsessed prima donna and the production crew were, at best, indifferent.
When a new victim was ushered in, though, there were spooky happenings that no one seemed to have planned. Slowly, without declaring its hand until the final shot, the half-hour tale built into horror (but a moral horror) where the unkind got their desserts.

You could even say that the modern, callous world of reality TV got a roasting from a format truer of a bygone age, something akin to Play For Today or Armchair Theatre.

However you see it, however it unsettles you, this show is a faith-restorer for those who love TV drama.

Series two of Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton's darkly comic anthology comes to a close with a suitably spooky instalment. Tina, an unassuming phone shop employee, enters a looming Victorian villa bearing the titular number, following an instruction to visit the mysterious medium Madam Talbot. Once inside, it soon becomes clear that unseen forces have been preparing for her visit. A fitting end to a second series that has excelled at times. One can but hope a third set of nines is to follow.

Radio Times review

For many, there's only a very fine line between comedy and horror; the two combined are an irresistible cocktail. Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton are masters in this field. For the final episode of this excellent anthology, they ensure we're snorting one minute and shuddering the next.

I shan't say too much about Séance Time, except that it happens inside a spooky house, where the gullible Tina (Sophie McShera, Downton Abbey's Daisy) is greeted by Shearsmith's character Hives (surely a nod to Laurel and Hardy). Before long, Tina is introduced to a black-veiled, hoarse and hilariously theatrical medium (Alison Steadman). The lights are dimmed and that's when the fun starts...

Inside No. 9: Intrigue, unease and emotional intensity

The second series of half-hour stories from Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton has been full of unexpected comedy and deep, dark horror, with nods to everything from Witchfinder General to Alan Ayckbourn.

Inside No.9, Séance Time, TV review

I'll tell you what, if the BBC don't give Inside No. 9 a third series I am going to chain myself to Lord Hall of Birkenhead until he personally intervenes.

'Inside No. 9' season 2 episode 6 review: 'Séance Time'

As this season closes, to declare any particular episode of Inside No 9 as a favourite - or best of - is, in truth, a fool's errand. It's equally pointless to define one episode or other as the 'serious' one, the 'funny' one, or the 'scary' one, and the fact that all of these programmes are produced by the BBC comedy department is perhaps misleading at best.