TV SERIES · 2003–2015 · UK
Peep Show
- Created by
- Sam Bain, Andrew O'Connor, Jesse Armstrong
- Network
- Channel 4
- Seasons
- 9
- Episodes
- 54
- Studio
- Objective Media Group
18 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
Two dysfunctional flatmates reveal all their inner thoughts - whether dark, stupid or embarrassing. Or, occasionally, all three...
18 Interesting Facts About Peep Show
Interesting Facts (10)
- #001
With very few exceptions (and apart from establishing shots at the start of scenes), every shot is filmed from a character's point of view, as if the viewer is seeing everything through their eyes. In addition, every scene features either Mark or Jeremy, though not always both.
- #002
The actors sometimes wear a 'camera helmet' to capture close-ups and actions that cannot be achieved with a normal camera.
- #003
The comedy duo David Mitchell and Robert Webb (Mitchell and Webb), who play Mark and Jeremy, met at university. Although they went to Cambridge, Mark and Jeremy attended the fictional (and probably far less prestigious) Dartmouth University.
- #004
Other influences were the American comic book "Hate" and Seinfeld (1989) (Bain said "There's probably a bit of George Costanza's DNA in Mark Corrigan").
- #005
Peep Show's theme song is "Flagpole Sitta" by Harvey Danger. The song appears from the second series onwards.
- #006
The opening shots of Mark and Jeremy were filmed on The Broadway in Crouch End, London. As of 2023 the fishmonger is still there, but the TV shop is now part of Hornsey Town Hall.
- #007
The camouflage jacket Jeremy wears throughout the series is of US military design.
- #008
During series 3, the advert breaks were labelled 'end of part one' and 'part two', a technique not used for the rest of the series.
- #009
Mark works for "JLB Credit", a reference to "LJM", one of the companies Enron used for its dubious accounting practices.
- #010
In season 5 episode 3, Jeremy buys a Wallace and Gromit game with a stolen credit card. Years later, Isy Suttie, who played Dobbie, Mark's girlfriend in a doomed relationship, was a voice actor on the Wallace and Gromit game 'The Big Fix Up'.
Production Story (2)
- #011
In the first two series, the flat scenes were shot in a real flat at Zodiac Court in Croydon (renamed Apollo House in the series). Before filming on series 3 began, however, the flat's owners demanded more money, and the producers decided to shoot the flat scenes in a studio with a set replicating the flat's interior. Flat scenes have been shot that way ever since, with exterior shots of the Zodiac Court tower block used additionally between scenes. The studio for series 3 and 4 was an old carpet warehouse in Neasden, an unused army barracks in Mill Hill was used for series 5 and 6, and series 7 was shot at the former Merton studios of the now-cancelled The Bill (1984).
- #012
Peep Show was initially going to be titled 'POV', after the series' point-of-view perspective. The idea was shelved, however, because writers Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain felt the title would make the series "too conspicuous".
Characters & Cast (3)
- #013
Although they are two of the main characters in a series with a small cast, Super Hans and Sophie interact directly with each other only briefly in a single scene across all 54 episodes (the picnic in series 6, episode 6).
- #014
Super Hans was in fact written with Danny Dyer in mind. Russell Brand also auditioned for the role, and Jake Wood was one of the final three before Matt King was cast.
- #015
In an episode of the series' second season, Mark lies and walks into a university lecture. In real life, Neil Fitzmaurice (who plays Geoff), a comedy lead actor, and his friend Peter Kay did the same thing at the University of Manchester.
Easter Eggs & References (1)
- #016
The series contains references to the American alternative rock band Pixies. For example, in series 1 episode 5 Super Hans notes that Jez has written a song called 'Tony's Theme' (the name of a Pixies song), and in series 3 episode 2 Merry's quoting of the Pixies song 'Bone Machine' is taken as evidence of her dangerous mental state.
Deeper Meaning (2)
- #017
In an interview for The Culture Show (2004), Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain said two of the main inspirations for Peep Show were the scene in Annie Hall (1977) in which Alvy and Annie talk while their real thoughts appear as subtitles, and the Alt-TV (2000) documentary, which used a POV-style shot they considered an interesting technique (itself inspired by Being John Malkovich (1999)). Mark and Jeremy's inner thoughts and voiceovers also work well. They also cited Danny in Withnail and I (1987) as the inspiration for the odd, drug-addicted Super Hans (as well as the dynamic of the double act plus an even stranger third character).
- #018
Despite airing for 12 years, the series never achieved a major ratings success for Channel 4. Its loyal fan base, however, meant it over-indexed on DVD sales, which made it profitable for the channel to keep making more episodes.
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work