Inarguably, Peep Show's best episodes contain the greatest comedic moments in sitcom history. Running from 2003 to 2015, Peep Show stars the perfectly cast comedy duo of David Mitchell and Robert Webb as flatmates. While Mitchell plays the reserved, self-aware pseudo-intellectual Mark, Webb is the passionate, delusional, and sensation-chasing Jeremy/Jez. It's a classic sitcom pairing between two highly contrasting individuals, whose only common factors is their unrelenting and selfish dishonesty. This relationship lays the groundwork for the show's brilliantly subtle absurdity and hard-hitting dark humor, which rarely ever misses throughout the entirety of Peep Show's 54 episodes. Although technically a rom-com, Peep Show is not for the faint of heart.
Originally called POV, Peep Show also stands out for its signature heavy use of point-of-view shots and voice-overs that reveal the inner monologue of whichever character's perspective is onscreen. To this day, Peep Show remains the only sitcom that has used both a head-mounted camera setup with voice-overs consistently in every season. This unique style is a product of the show's limited budget, its writers' creativity, and its cast's willingness to adapt to the unusual and difficult setup. Somehow underrated and globally recognized at once, Peep Show tried everything it could to break the sitcom genre, only to ironically become arguably the greatest sitcom ever. Here are the 10 best episodes of Peep Show.
10 The Test
- Season 6, Episode 2
“The Test” sees Mark and Jeremy take a paternity test to determine who’s really the father of Sophie’s child. It may sound like the plot of a daytime soap opera, but Peep Show naturally finds a way to wring as much comedy out of the situation as possible. Meanwhile, both Mark and Jeremy are trying to impress their respective crushes, with Mark going on a date with on-again-off-again romantic interest Dobby, and Jeremy attempting to woo his Russian drug dealer Elena. "The Test" stands out as one of Peep Show's best episodes for focusing on what the show does best: Mark and Jeremy being hilariously terrible liars and men.
9 Quantocking
- Season 3, Episode 6
When Mark takes Sophie to a nice hotel in the Quantocks, Jeremy crashes the party with a cold-turkey Super Hans. While Mark planned on proposing to Sophie during their trip, he eventually decides it’s a bad idea. Mark’s revelation is quickly undercut when he discovers that Sophie has found the ring and accepts his proposal. Mark then agrees to marry Sophie out of sheer awkwardness. "Quantocking" is among Peep Show's best episodes not only for unraveling Mark and Sophie's relationship. It also shows Jeremy brilliantly failing at trying to be a supportive friend to Super Hans, whose dilemma coaxes out one of the supporting character's best performances in the series.
8 Mark Makes A Friend
- Season 1, Episode 4
Mark making a new friend at work results in him getting in trouble, but also forming an unlikely friendship with his boss, Alan Johnson. Immediately, Mark questions and even investigates his own sexuality when he feels an attraction to Alan. After Jeremy reveals this to Alan, Mark deduces that he's about "85% straight." "Mark Makes a Friend" is one of Peep Show's best episodes not just for introducing the charismatic Alan Johnson, the perfect foil to Mark's uncanny ability to cause awkward situations. Jeremy also struggles with having been physically intimate with Super Hans in last night's drug binge. Not surprisingly, Peep Show tackles queerness with unflinching realism, despite playing everything for laughs.
7 University Challenge
- Season 2, Episode 4
“University Challenge” follows Mark and Jeremy as they travel back to their old college, with Mark hoping to pursue like-minded student April while Jeremy follows the band "Executioner’s Bong." This is one of Peep Show's best episodes for its focus on Mark, yet again, mistaking the slightest bit of compatibility to be a sign of true love. Meanwhile, Jeremy goes through the usual beats as well by trying and failing to become a rock star through some shortcut, with Super Hans' criminal antics feeling right at home in university. The aptly titled "University Challenge" further unravels Mark and Jeremy's arrested development in an episode that feels like a classic college comedy movie.
6 Sophie's Parents
- Season 4, Episode 1
The first episode of Peep Show’s fourth season, “Sophie’s Parents,” sees Mark and Jeremy visit his in-laws-to-be in their remote countryside home, following the engagement of Mark and Sophie. From Mark’s bird-shooting incident and Jeremy’s affair with Sophie’s married mother, to Mark and Jeremy’s reluctant arson, this is one of Peep Show's best episodes. The real kicker, though, is Mark deciding that he’ll stay with Sophie despite not loving her, simply because her parents gifted them a house in the countryside. It's all revealed to the audience — and hidden from Sophie — through Peep Show's signature POV and voice-over style. It's also one of the best performances of Olivia Coleman's early career.
5 Dance Class
- Season 2, Episode 1
While Peep Show usually aimed its jokes squarely at Mark and Jeremy themselves, “Dance Class” highlights the awkwardness of the Rainbow Rhythms dance class they’re forced to attend with their prospective lovers before the couples retire to a romantic summer house. That said, what makes "Dance Class" one of Peep Show's best episodes is Mark himself, who fully misunderstands the point of Rainbow Rhythms while simultaneously thinking that he should "get extra marks for not feeling a f******* thing." From Jeremy and Mark’s forced kiss to Mark’s unbearably embarrassing serenade on the lake, “Dance Class” is one of the most joke-dense episodes of Peep Show’s earlier seasons.
4 Shrooming
- Season 3, Episode 3
As the episode’s title suggests, “Shrooming” sees Jeremy hold a psylocibin mushroom party at the flat—only for his plans to be derailed by Mark’s presence after he suddenly falls ill. In another one of his misguided plans to get back with Big Suze, Jeremy becomes the worst shrooms shaman ever, while the visibly ill and upset Mark is the last thing anyone on psylocibin mushrooms need to see. One of Peep Show's best episodes, "Shrooming" includes Jeremy "poisoning" Mark with Lemsip to get him out of the way, the duo "commanding" a carpenter to fix the bathroom door immediately, and Mark’s explosive finale.
3 Seasonal Beatings
- Season 7, Episode 5
“Seasonal Beatings” is set during Christmas, as Mark’s parents Dan and Pam come for dinner, with Dobby and Super Hans unexpectedly joining the festivities. Highlights include Mark’s unwarranted turkey-based tirade at Jeremy and Mark’s constant bickering with his father, but the episode’s most memorable moment comes when Dan tells Mark to "put a muzzle on his woman." When Mark fails to defend Dobby, the awkwardness is truly palpable. Fortunately, Mark later redeems himself by standing up to his father, labeling the day "Christmark" as a result. Apart from the jokes, "Seasonal Beatings" is among Peep Show's best episodes for being the pay-off of Mark's long-term character development.
2 Wedding
- Season 4, Episode 6
Among the best Peep Show episodes is the quintessential “Wedding”, which opens with Mark marching towards his doom as he prepares to marry Sophie. It’s both hilarious and pathetic to witness Mark’s increasingly desperate attempts to get out of the wedding, going as far as stepping in front of a car. "Wedding" also includes Super Hans vomiting into his top hat, and Mark hiding out on the church balcony. Mark’s cowardice is revealed when Jeremy wets himself in Mark's hiding place, which proceeds to leak through the floorboards onto the guests below. Everything in the show just came together in "Wedding," undoubtedly one of Peep Show's best episodes, and another hidden gem among Olivia Coleman's early roles.
1 Holiday
- Season 4, Episode 5
Arguably the best Peep Show episode is "Holiday". Even by Peep Show’s standards, “Holiday” is widely considered the most out-there episode of the entire show. While most episodes build to a handful of awkward moments but nothing too high stakes, “Holiday” takes things to a whole new level. At Mark’s stag weekend, Jeremy and Mark pursue a pair of sisters. After accidentally running over their beloved dog, Jeremy goes to great lengths to hide his crime, even resorting to a makeshift cremation which the duo play off as a barbecue to the sisters. In the greatest of the worst-ever moments in Peep Show, Mark and Jeremy are then forced to eat the dog’s charred remains to keep up their lie.