After an unbearable 3-year wait, the 9th and final season of Peep Show will finally start airing this November. Starting its run in 2003, the show follows the lives of Mark Corrigan and Jeremy "Jez" Usbourne, two dysfunctional, codependent friends who share a flat in Croydon, South London. Mark, a loan manager with a bleak and cynical outlook on life, is responsible but socially inept, while Jeremy, a lazy and unemployed would-be musician who lives in Mark's spare room, maintains a more confident but equally unproductive worldview. Stylistically, the show utilitizes point of view shots, with the thoughts of the main characters audible as voice-overs. The show is known for its hilarious rapid-fire dialogue and social commentary, its excruciating as well as completely ridiculous situations, but also for its brutal realism and depressing twists and turns. Like if Arrested Development, Curb Your Enthusiasm and the British version of The Office had an old baby, and then that baby started a cult.
Mark Corrigan (David Mitchell)
Mark Corrigan is the owner of the flat that he shares with Jeremy, in the outskirts of Croydon, South London. He is sensible and careful, but often has moments of impulsive and erratic behaviour. He appears to have had a somewhat miserable upbringing, with a domineering and stubborn father who he somehow wasn't brave, mature and independent enough to stand up, fight against and claim his independence from, and some infidelity by both parents. Mark is conscious of Jeremy's intellectual inferiority, but still looks to him for social guidance, as he is extremely socially awkward. Mark is plagued by paranoia as to how others perceive him, and doubts over whether his actions are normal. He is often unable to grasp how modern society operates, and simply endures activities that others seem to enjoy.
Jeremy "Jez" Usbourne (Robert Webb)
A wannabe musician, Jez, is a "work-shy freeloader" who is unemployed for most of the series. He is naïve, immature and often selfish, but considers himself very talented and attractive. He tends to be more sociable than Mark, but can sometimes be quite malicious and spiteful. He has displayed no qualms about engaging in actions such as ganging up on Mark with a bully, poisoning Mark to save a party, kissing Sophie or relapsing Super Hans into drug addiction. Jeremy is hedonistic and enjoys recreational drugs as well as casual sex.
Dobbie (Isy Suttie)
Dobby (real name Debbie) is Mark's post-Sophie love interest, and former co-worker. In many ways she is similar to Mark in that she is an outsider - a girl who likes video games and fantasy roleplaying. However, she is more outgoing than Mark and her desire for adventure puts a strain on their relationship at times. Although their relationship is waylaid by various awkward situations and Mark's primary love rival Gerard, by the end of series 7 Dobby has agreed to move in with him. Throughout series 8, a variety of events seem to conspire to keep Dobby from moving in to Mark's flat. After a disastrous weekend in the Quantocks during which Mark brings Jeremy along, she accepts a job offer and heads to New York with her ex-boyfriend Simon.
Super Hans (Matt King)
Jeremy's band-mate and friend, "Super" Hans likes to think of himself as being superior to others and is an untrustworthy shyster and fantasist. He regularly uses recreational drugs, and experiences a crack cocaine addiction in the second series, later referenced again in the final episode of the third series and in the seventh series. His contentious opinions often contradict Jeremy's own ideas. He works in a recording studio in the first series. At the end of series 5 he joins a religious cult loosely based on Scientology. During the finale of series 6 we discover that he is father to eight-year-old twins.
Sophie Chatman (Olivia Colman)
Sophie is Mark's former co-worker and love interest; they eventually marry, and almost immediately separate. As of the end of Series 5, she is pregnant with the child of either Mark, Jeremy or Jeff and at the end of series 6, it is confirmed that she is pregnant with Mark's child. A DNA test later confirms that Mark is the father, and the series ends with everyone driving to hospital when Sophie goes into labour.
The show has a large cast of characters, but many of them only appear for certain seasons or single episodes, like the friendships and relationships we have in real life. A full list of characters can be found here.
The show has never been known for its commercial success or high ratings. It's been considered a cult show practically since the first episode, has a small but loyal fan base, and has earned critical acclaim and a number of awards during its run.
The cast and writers have won several British Comedy Awards, a BAFTA, and several awards from the Royal Television Society. It has won the titles "The Best Returning British TV Sitcom 2007" and "Comedy of the Year 2008" in The Comedy.co.uk Awards, The Guardian newspaper described it as "the best comedy of the decade", and The Times praised the show's "scorching writing" and named it the 15th best TV show of the 2000s. So yeah, it's pretty fucking good.
The new season premieres on the 11th of November, 10 pm on Channel 4. US viewers can find the show on Hulu and US Netflix, and you're supposed to be able to watch the show on channel 4's website, you need an account there so I haven't been able to verify if it works. Most episodes can also be found on Youtube, as well as on other sites where you can illegally watch things. Sadly, again, this really isn't a show with a gigantic fan base, and the relatively low number of episodes doesn't provide incentive for networks to put it into syndication. Amazon also has a box set of the first 7 seasons, with a full collection hopefully on the way when this seasons wraps up.
Episode 9-1: 11th November, 10:00 pm - synopsis:
Jez has some rather constrictive new living quarters, and Mark has a new flatmate and has landed a bank job, but it seems that the wounds of mutual love for Dobby have not yet healed.
UPDATE: the first episode can be viewed here: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/peep-show/on-demand/51399-001
You need an account and a VPN blocker (it's UK viewers only), and you can only watch it once per account. But still!
Episode 9-2: 18th November
Episode 9-3: 25th November
Episode 9-4: 2nd December
Episode 9-5: 9th December
Episode 9-6: 16th December
Further synopses can be found here. Why would you read them though? What the fuck's wrong with you?
A trailer for the upcoming season:
And some stats! Everyone likes stats right?
Really? Really? Well, just watch some out of context clips!
Receiving a pizza through a letterbox
Mark takes a driving lesson
Mark got raped
Jez becomes a handyman
Mark's views on drug users
Tricking the boiler
Jez's band records a song for a commercial
Nice packet of Crunchy Nut you got here, pretty expensive as I recall
I guess I'm trying to say that I like you, Peep Show.
