BIRD brain
A cartoon owl ruffles some feathers in THE FINAL EPISODE of Inside No. 9
Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith sign off with a dark and twisted tale that takes us on a journey through a man’s conflicted conscience in the final episode of this year’s Inside No. 9.
It tells the story of Ronnie, who spent his childhood watching Wise Owl, an informational cartoon loved by millions during the1970s about a bossy owl who kept children safe.
The cartoon had a lasting effect on a generation of kids, but has had special significance for Ronnie, who’s spent his entire life trying to do the right thing – until some shocking revelations have him wondering what is right and what is wrong?
GUEST STARS
The episode also features The Salisbury Poisonings’ Ron Cook and Call the Midwife’s Georgie Glen, along with some striking animation from Sam O’leary, whose credits include C4 comedy
Harry Hill’s
Clubnite.
It’s set to be a fitting finale to this year’s series, and one man who’s sure to be tuning in is Shearsmith, who likes to watch episodes when they air on BBC2 to gauge the audience’s reaction.
‘It does feel special to watch it when it’s actually on TV,’ explains Shearsmith. ‘I remember missing all of series five because I was doing a play in New York and Steve was texting me saying, “It’s going down really well.” You always seem to get an instant reaction [on social media] and often people seem to have decided whether it’s any good or not while the episode is still on!’
FUTURE PLANS
Shearsmith, 52, and Pemberton, 54, recently confirmed their involvement in a US remake of Inside No. 9, but they’re keen to reassure British fans the show will be returning to BBC2 for at least two more series.
‘We’d love to get to series nine of Inside No. 9,’ smiles Pemberton. ‘We’ve got a backlog of ideas we’ve discussed in the past, but we also want to give ourselves time for fresh ideas to come to us. Could we go beyond series nine? Who knows?!’