--- title: "Peep Show" year: 2003 kind: "series" canonical: "https://film.one/tv/peep-show" fi1m_id: "peep-show" imdb_id: "tt0387764" tmdb_id: 815 wikidata_id: "Q1519256" fi1m_score: 88 critics_score: 84 critics_reviews: 4 published: "2026-09-13" updated: "2026-09-20T21:01:55.501474+00:00" region: "SE" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Peep Show (2003) Created by Sam Bain, Andrew O'Connor, Jesse Armstrong · 25m · Statens medieråd Från 15 år · Comedy ## Identity Peep Show - **Canonical:** https://film.one/tv/peep-show - **Type:** Series - **Fi1m ID:** peep-show - **IMDb ID:** tt0387764 - **TMDB ID:** 815 - **Wikidata ID:** Q1519256 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387764/, https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/815, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1519256 **Fi1m score: 88** · Critics 84 (early) from 4 reviews *In a sentence:* Two flatmates whose private thoughts make a persuasive case for living alone > *Peep Show* makes private cowardice painfully funny, with David Mitchell and Robert Webb giving every excuse its due. The relentless embarrassment can become tiring, but the writing and the performances make it worth the discomfort. ## Synopsis David Mitchell plays Mark Corrigan and Robert Webb plays Jeremy Usborne, two flatmates whose private thoughts accompany their encounters with other people. The camera adopts characters’ points of view, while internal narration lets us hear what Mark and Jeremy do not say aloud. Their shared life supplies the setting for a comedy about how they behave around each other and what happens when other people enter their company. The cast includes Olivia Colman as Sophie Chapman, Matt King as Super Hans and Neil Fitzmaurice as Jeff Heaney. ## Review *Peep Show* is an excellent comedy about the effort people put into excusing themselves. David Mitchell’s Mark Corrigan and Robert Webb’s Jeremy Usborne share a home, while point-of-view camerawork and internal narration give us access to things a conventional conversation would leave politely concealed. Writers Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong make that access funny enough to overcome the discomfort it causes. The strain is part of the pleasure, though we would hesitate to recommend several episodes in a row. The camera puts us close to whoever is being looked at, so an ordinary exchange can feel like an examination we have not prepared for. Directors Tristram Shapeero and Jeremy Wooding work within a format that gives faces an unusual amount to do. A neutral expression can become threatening when the voice in our ear is busy interpreting it for its own convenience. The point-of-view technique keeps affecting the joke for as long as the conversation lasts. Bain and Armstrong are particularly good at the private excuse that seems persuasive for just long enough to embarrass its owner. The narration lets a thought develop in all its selfish detail, with no obligation to make the person thinking it seem admirable. We laughed, then felt uncomfortably recognised. Hearing somebody justify themselves while watching them try to look reasonable makes it difficult to pretend that only these two men have ever behaved like this. Mitchell makes self-consciousness look exhausting, down to the effort apparently required to complete a sentence. His precise delivery suggests a man checking each word for the possibility that someone might object to it. Webb brings a looser confidence to Jeremy, allowing a flimsy explanation to sound sufficient. They are well matched because neither performance needs to ask for our affection before making us laugh. Olivia Colman, as Sophie Chapman, is especially valuable to a comedy so dependent on what can be read into a face. Her reactions give the central pair something harder to manage than their own accounts of themselves. Matt King makes Super Hans funny without seeming to wait for permission to be odd. The supporting performances matter because the programme would soon become monotonous if Mark and Jeremy were the only people capable of surprising us. The limitation is how readily embarrassment becomes the expected destination. Once we begin waiting for an encounter to become intolerable, some of the pleasure of discovering how it gets there has already gone. Across nine series, the format can feel repetitive, and the closeness that makes individual exchanges so effective gives us few opportunities to relax. At 25 minutes an episode, however, there is usually enough restraint in the running time to stop the discomfort becoming a chore. A comedy about flatmates could settle for reassuring us that it is good to have someone around. Here, simply having company is enough to make somebody’s day more difficult, and the writers find a considerable number of ways to demonstrate it. The actors keep those difficulties funny without making the household seem any more appealing. Start with one episode, and allow a little quiet afterwards. *Fi1m score 88, published 13 September 2026.* ## Straight answers **Is Peep Show worth watching?** *Peep Show* is worth watching for anyone who can bear watching two flatmates excuse themselves in private, and we scored it 88. David Mitchell and Robert Webb make the cowardice funny enough to survive the discomfort, though the embarrassment can tire you across several episodes. Watch one at a time and leave a little quiet afterwards. **How long is Peep Show, and what is it rated?** *Peep Show* has episodes of about 25m and is rated Från 15 år by the Statens medieråd in Sweden. It is a comedy series. **Where can I watch Peep Show in Sweden?** *Peep Show* is streaming on Amazon Prime Video in Sweden. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How violent or frightening is Peep Show, and is it suitable for children?** *Peep Show* carries an 18 certificate and is not suitable for children. The comedy is not violent or frightening; the discomfort comes from hearing what Mark and Jeremy think and do not say, which the certificate suggests is frank and adult throughout. It suits grown-ups who can take being uncomfortably recognised in the excuses on screen. **How does Peep Show compare to The Thick of It?** *Peep Show* is the more private of the two, staging its humiliations in a shared flat and inside its characters' heads, while [*The Thick of It*](https://film.one/tv/the-thick-of-it) spreads its chaos across a government department. Both find comedy in explanations that make things worse. Choose *Peep Show* for closeness and self-deception, *The Thick of It* for ensemble variety and Peter Capaldi's abuse. **What should I watch after Peep Show?** After *Peep Show*, try [*The Thick of It*](https://film.one/tv/the-thick-of-it) (2005, Fi1m 94): For people whose elaborate explanations only make their predicament more painful and funnier. Then [*Curb Your Enthusiasm*](https://film.one/tv/curb-your-enthusiasm) (2000, Fi1m 84): Small breaches of etiquette become disputes nobody sensible would choose to prolong; and [*The Apartment*](https://film.one/film/the-apartment) (1960, Fi1m 91): Office manners, compromised decency and a gentler concern for people making bad choices. ### Reviews we read (4) - **The Guardian** (90/100, inferred): The critic bids farewell to the long-running series with praise for its consistent depravity, hilarity and human truths across 12 years. The finale is described as lovely in its own way and the right time to stop while at the top. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/dec/16/peep-show-review-final-ride-el-dude-brothers) - **The Times**, Andrew Billen (★★★★☆): The critic finds the series overall wonderful, subtle in characterisation, formally inventive and consistently funny, crediting the writers' genius for character-rich dialogue. The finale underscores the duo's enduring dysfunctional bond as the ultimate tragedy. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/tv-review-peep-show-the-apprentice-szjvlc0sv) - **Empire**, Steve O'Hagen (75/100, inferred): Peep Show follows the sordid lives of two flatmates with POV camerawork and internal narration, delivering dark and excruciating comedy. This second series is not quite as groundbreaking as the first but remains hilarious. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/tv/reviews/peep-show-series-2-review/) - **Paste**, Sara Ghaleb (80/100, inferred): The critic views Peep Show as a comfort watch in dark times, praising its unflinching look at two deeply flawed roommates whose inner monologues reveal universal human failings. She singles out the POV style and psychological depth for making viewers confront their own cowardice and delusions without easy redemption. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/comedy/the-empathy-exams-a-eulogy-for-peep-show) ## Details - **Created by:** Sam Bain, Andrew O'Connor, Jesse Armstrong - **Creator:** Sam Bain, Andrew O'Connor, Jesse Armstrong - **Director:** Tristram Shapeero, Jeremy Wooding - **Writer:** Jesse Armstrong, Sam Bain - **Producer:** Sam Bain, Jesse Armstrong, Phil Clarke - **Cast:** David Mitchell as Mark Corrigan; Robert Webb as Jeremy Usborne; Neil Fitzmaurice as Jeff Heaney; Sophie Winkleman as Big Suze; Matt King as Super Hans; Rachel Blanchard as Nancy; Elizabeth Marmur as Toni; Olivia Colman as Sophie Chapman - **Runtime:** 25m - **Certificate (Statens medieråd):** Från 15 år - **Release (Sweden):** 19 September 2003 - **Genres:** Comedy - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzsy-haNy1E ## Where to watch in Sweden - Amazon Prime Video: streaming *Checked 2026-09-13.* Also available in: AU, BR, CA, FI, GB, IE, IS, NO, NZ, PH, SE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *The Thick of It* (2005), Fi1m 94: For people whose elaborate explanations only make their predicament more painful and funnier — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/tv/the-thick-of-it.md) - *Curb Your Enthusiasm* (2000), Fi1m 84: Small breaches of etiquette become disputes nobody sensible would choose to prolong — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/tv/curb-your-enthusiasm.md) - *Klovn* (2005): Another friendship sustained by bad judgement, with precious little mercy for either man - *The Dinner Game* (1998): A smug host discovers how much damage one dinner guest can do - *The Apartment* (1960), Fi1m 91: Office manners, compromised decency and a gentler concern for people making bad choices — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-apartment.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/tv/peep-show