Peep Show final series – will Mark and Jez find happiness?
As Mitchell and Webb's painful sitcom duo bow out, is now the right time to say goodbye?
After more than a decade, the ninth and final series of the much-loved sitcom Peep Show will air on Channel 4 tomorrow. So what can viewers expect from David Mitchell and Robert Webb's hapless duo, Mark and Jez?
When the series started in 2003, college chums Mark and Jeremy shared a flat in Croydon and were adjusting to the realities of life after university. Mark was a cynical, socially inept loan manager, while Jeremy was an unemployed wannabe musician.
When we left them in series eight, life had moved on for the self-styled El Dude brothers, but not much. Jez became a life coach after his band fell apart and he realised he had feelings for Mark's on-again-off-again love interest Dobby. Mark and Jeremy fought, and Dobby left the scene, apparently on her way to New York.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Commentators have been paying tribute to the show, while anticipating what the new series has in store.
The final series of Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain's "singularly painful sitcom" has viewers avidly waiting to find out how things might wrap up, says Hugh Montgomery in The Independent. Will Mark find romantic fulfilment? Will Jeremy get an actual job? Will Super Hans stay off the crack?
James Gill in the Radio Times has been "speculating wildly", thanks to behind-the-scenes pictures that series creator Sam Bain has been posting on his Instagram account. For a start, Dobby is back, Gill concludes from a picture of Dobby's on-set trailer. Another picture shows Jeremy in a suit and tie, so "perhaps his life coaching career really did take off", says Gill.
Emma O'Neill in the Scotsman adds that despite the fact it's over three years since the last series of Peep Show, the new show's time line will only jump forward six months. It will see Mark with a new flatmate, Jerry – a sort of Mark 2.0, who likes reading and quiet nights in – while Jez is forced to live in Super Hans's bathroom.
Mark still hasn't forgiven Jez for declaring his love for his girlfriend, Dobby, and also fears for the safety of his new job, says O'Neill. She adds that both Jez and Mark "are struggling to adjust to middle age, needing to find what their place in the world now looks like".
Phil Harrison in the Daily Telegraph wonders if Peep Show could continue and become "a Last of the Summer Wine for the Instagram generation". Yes, he says, but it would be a different, bleaker show.
It's easy to be a waster in your twenties but the stakes get higher the older you get, says Harrison. There might be a good show in that particular dilemma but probably not an especially funny one, he concludes.
The best sitcoms know when to stop, adds Harrison. "Peep Show is bowing out while it still belongs in that company."
Peep Show returns to Channel 4 on 11 November at 10pm.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - November 2, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - anti-fascism, early voter turnout, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Geoff Capes obituary: shot-putter who became the World’s Strongest Man
In the Spotlight The 'mighty figure' was a two-time Commonwealth Champion and world-record holder
By The Week UK Published
-
Israel attacks Iran: a 'limited' retaliation
Talking Point Iran's humiliated leaders must decide how to respond to Netanyahu's measured strike
By The Week UK Published
-
The Count of Monte Cristo review: 'indecently spectacular' adaptation
The Week Recommends Dumas's classic 19th-century novel is once again given new life in this 'fast-moving' film
By The Week UK Published
-
Death of England: Closing Time review – 'bold, brash reflection on racism'
The Week Recommends The final part of this trilogy deftly explores rising political tensions across the country
By The Week UK Published
-
Sing Sing review: prison drama bursts with 'charm, energy and optimism'
The Week Recommends Colman Domingo plays a real-life prisoner in a performance likely to be an Oscars shoo-in
By The Week UK Published
-
Kaos review: comic retelling of Greek mythology starring Jeff Goldblum
The Week Recommends The new series captures audiences as it 'never takes itself too seriously'
By The Week UK Published
-
Blink Twice review: a 'stylish and savage' black comedy thriller
The Week Recommends Channing Tatum and Naomi Ackie stun in this film on the hedonistic rich directed by Zoë Kravitz
By The Week UK Published
-
Shifters review: 'beautiful' new romantic comedy offers 'bittersweet tenderness'
The Week Recommends The 'inventive, emotionally astute writing' leaves audiences gripped throughout
By The Week UK Published
-
How to do F1: British Grand Prix 2025
The Week Recommends One of the biggest events of the motorsports calendar is back and better than ever
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
Twisters review: 'warm-blooded' film explores dangerous weather
The Week Recommends The film, focusing on 'tornado wranglers', stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell
By The Week UK Published