Inside No. 9

A quick chat with... Steve Pemberton (part one)

Steve Pemberton. Steve Pemberton, Steve Pemberton, Steve Pemberton. Where do you start with the man? His acting credits include the acclaimed Happy Valley, Doctor Who and Blackpool. He's written for Whitechapel, appeared in numerous stage hits, like the National's celebrated 2012 production of She Stoops to Conquer, and somehow finds time for everything from radio to the big screen. And, yes. I know. But do we really have to run through his comedy credentials? I mean...

A quiet night in with Reece and Steve

Bristol was treated to a rare appearance from Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton at a special event organised by Slapstick Festival.

Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton on Series 3

"We've done quite a dark series this time around," says Steve Pemberton. "There's two or three episodes where we've pushed the horror element."

Radio Times review

Radio Times Top 40 TV Shows of 2015, #29:

The 12 Days of Christine, episode two of this twisty, darkly comic anthology's second series, was one of 2015's best single half-hours of television. A fragmented puzzle starring she-who-can-do-no-wrong, the superb Sheridan Smith, it told of a young woman's life in snapshots. It wasn't the reveal that amazed, it was the clever assembly of material, and the fact that such a brief acquaintance with these characters could be so eye-wipingly brilliant. Not that other episodes were slouches: especially the 17th-century witch's tale and the crisis-line micro-drama.

The second series of this superb and unique comedy from Reece Shearsmith was always going to make the list. The first series was one of the biggest highlights of 2014 meaning this second series of the standalone comedy stories had a lot live up too. Whilst some episodes failed to reach the high standards set by the first series, special mention must go to Sheridan Smith's episode and a deeply engrossing episode set in a call centre.

[The Guardian's best TV shows of 2015, #16:] Not since Tales of the Unexpected have British viewers been treated to such elegantly crafted half-hour slices of intrigue, unease and all-out emotional intensity.

The best thing I watched last week: Inside No. 9

This week I watched a series that has everything I look for in a British TV show; innovation, an element of the unexpected and something that is just plain well written. That is Inside No. 9 in a nutshell.

Inside No. 9 - Series 2 review

This series feels even more steeped in strong narratives. Perhaps this is because of the pressure of the previous run: viewers now had high expectations.