Of all the TV that I saw this year, one of the most enjoyable viewing experiences that I had was watching Inside No 9 from the very beginning. Although it started in 2014, I confess that I had some serious catching up to do, having only ever watched the odd episode here and there. This is one of the benefits, and drawbacks, of an anthology series: every episode stands alone, so it is all too easy to dip in and out. When I finally committed, just in time for its last ever series, I realised that I had been missing out on a modern classic.
Inside No 9: The Party’s Over commemorates its demise, after nine series and 10 years, with a behind-the-scenes documentary, mostly pulled together as those final episodes were filmed. Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith guide viewers through this modest victory lap, filming each other on their phones, digging out old photos of them sharing a flat in their 20s, looking through a scrapbook containing The League of Gentlemen clippings and reviews and notebooks with single lines scrawled in them that would go on to be shaped into some of Inside No 9’s most innovative instalments.
