Inside No. 9

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.

How Shearsmith and Pemberton have revived a lost genre

The anthology series - a collection of individual, unrelated episodes - gave birth to some famous hit shows before falling into disrepute among commissioners.

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, TV review

A top-drawer cast puts these twisted tales in a league of their own.

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.

Audio: Reece Shearsmith interview

Actor and comedian Reece Shearsmith talks to Front Row's Mark Lawson about writing dark comedy and a possible reunion for the television series The League of Gentlemen.

Inside No. 9: cult heroes Shearsmith & Pemberton return

"I think it is a hard sell for people," Shearsmith says of the format. "There's this idea that you don't build an audience with an anthology - every week, you've got to start again and if you don't like the first one [you see] you might not watch again. That's the fear! But I think the appeal is the absolute excitement of not knowing what you're going to get."

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."