History Series / InsideNo9

** Every series tries for at least one episode with something unusual or different, including an episode with only one line of dialogue ("A Quiet Night In"), reverse chronology ("Once Removed"), an episode written entirely in iambic pentameter ("Zanzibar"), and a series of dramatic monologues ("Thinking Out Loud")
* FreezeFrameBonus: In every episode (with the exception of the online episode) there is a metal statuette of a silver hare which has been [[http://www.denofgeek.com/uk/tv/inside-no-9/47261/inside-no-9-did-you-spot-this-hidden-detail-in-every-episode placed as a sort of "Where's Wally" challenge for fans.]]

* ChildrenAreInnocent: Tamsin in "Last Gasp", Jack in "The Twelve Days of Christine", Sally in "Diddle Diddle Dumpling", Levi in "To Have and to Hold".

* OnceASeason: The final episode of each season thus far has been horror-themed, usually involving supernatural elements.

* BittersweetEnding: In general, this is about as light an ending as you can expect from this show; it might not be a complete downer for all the characters, but it's rarely unambiguously happy either. Prominent examples include "Last Gasp", "The 12 Days of Christine", "Bernie Clifton's Dressing Room" and "Love's Great Adventure". "To Have and to Hold" and "Misdirection" also feature this in a way; they don't exactly end well, but they ''do'' end in a way where otherwise reprehensible characters receive their just desserts.

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: The series is primarily a mix of horror and black comedy, but in Series 2 we have a straight drama in "The 12 Days Of Christine", and a lighter farcical comedy in "Nana's Party".
** Every series tries for at least one episode with something unusual or different, including an episode with only one line of dialogue ("A Quiet Night In"), reverse chronology ("Once Removed"), an episode written entirely in iambic pentameter ("Zanzibar"), and a series of dramatic monologues ("Thinking Out Loud")
* TwistEnding: Almost every episode.

* BittersweetEnding: "Last Gasp", "The 12 Days of Christine", "Bernie Clifton's Dressing Room", "Love's Great Adventure". Also "To Have and to Hold" and "Misdirection", in a way, as Adrian and Neville (the episodes' main antagonists) get their respective comeuppances.

* LighterAndSofter: Despite many episodes being rather dark at times, there are a few which subvert Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton's typical trademarks. "Nana's Party" and "Empty Orchestra" are two very notable examples, as [[spoiler: no character dies, and in the latter the adulterers get their comeuppance, the cheated girlfriend gets a promotion and the deaf girl gets the guy she wanted at the end.]]. Series 4 also fits this; "Zanzibar" is a light-hearted comedy, the ending of "Bernie Clifton's Dressing Room" is more poignant than actually dark, and "And The Winner Is..." is a satirical portrayal of an awards panel, with a dramatic, but not darker, final twist.

* TheVerse: The [[WhatCouldHaveBeen abandoned idea]] for an episode centred around [[ThoseTwoBadGuys Maureen and David Sowerbutts]] would have made {{Series/Psychoville}} a part of this shared universe as well. [[spoiler: It finally happens during Season 5, with David, Maureen and Mister Jelly appearing in "Death Be Not Proud".]]

->''"This is ''Inside No. 9''. It's all dark comedy and twists."''

* AnyoneCanDie: There is no PlotArmor for any of the protagonists in the series and it's your guess who lives and who dies.

** “Sardines". [[spoiler:Certainly one of the people in the wardrobe deserves what's about to happen, and arguably a few others, but most of them don't.]]
** “The Harrowing." [[spoiler:Unlike other episodes in the series, Katy does nothing to deserve her fate; she's chosen as Castiel's host because Hector and Tabitha feel that [[BlessedWithSuck her strength of character will help to keep the demon contained.]]]]

** In "Last Gasp", Jan is the only person to show any real concern for Tamsin.

Each episode uses a different [[BottleEpisode single location]] as the primary setting, all of which are somehow linked to the number 9. While this is often [[ThePlace the address or number of the setting]], the connection is at times a little more varied (for example, one episode goes "inside" a size 9 shoe, while another involves a football player wearing the number 9 shirt). Locations include a gothic mansion, the sleeping car of a train, a cubicle in a call centre, an art gallery, a karaoke booth, a hotel corridor, a theatre changing room, and a police car.

Each episode uses a different [[BottleEpisode single location]] as the primary setting, each of which [[ThePlace has the address "No. 9"]]. Locations include a gothic mansion, the sleeping car of a train, a cubicle in a call centre, an art gallery, a karaoke booth, a hotel corridor, a theatre changing room, and a police car.

** In "Empty Orchesta" [[spoiler: the woman who sings 'Titanium' after coming in to the karaoke room early with her party at the end is named in the credits as Chantel.]]

* OncePerEpisode: In season 6, so far every episode had the number 9 showing up prominently somewhere in the opening shot.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: A frequent occurence due to the self-contained and twist-heavy nature of the stories, resulting in many characters who are ultimately revealed to be far worse than they first appear.

* BitchInSheepsClothing:

* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler: Migg in "Tom and Gerri", "Kathy" in the movie in "The Devil of Christmas" and Bill in "Thinking Out Loud". All the characters in "Sardines" and "A Quiet Night In" pretty much got this. In "Once Removed", a hitman is tricked into killing one of the people who hired him, before being killed himself by the real mark.]]

* AsHimself: Averted in that the radio DJ played by Danny Baker in "Diddle Diddle Dumping" and the arts journalist played by Muriel Gray in "Private View" could easily have been credited as such, but are instead credited by the characters' job titles.

* RunningGag: The creators consider the fact that Pemberton's characters are regularly killed by Shearsmith's (at least once or twice per season) one of these; as of Season 5, the reverse has never happened [[spoiler: unless you count "The Trial of Elizabeth Gadge" in which Clarke arranges for Warren to be executed in Elizabeth's place.]]

** “The Harrowing." [[spoiler:Unlike other episodes in the series, Katy does nothing to deserve her fate; she's chosen as Castiel's host because Hector and Tabitha feel that [[CursedWithAwesome her strength of character will help to keep the demon contained.]]]]

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/inside_no_9.png]]

* YourCheatingHeart:
** Jeremy in "Sardines" is strongly suggested to be cheating on his fiancée with his ex-girlfriend.
** "The Twelve Days of Christine" implies Adam may have had an affair with his co-worker. A draft of the script, posted on the BBC's website, features a deleted scene confirming he did.
** The events of "Nana's Party" lead to the discovery that Carol and Jim have been having an affair for years (and Carol apparently got pregnant at one point.)
** [[spoiler:Turns out to be a driving plot point in "Once Removed"]]
** In "To Have and to Hold", Harriet apparently had an affair some time ago because she felt neglected by Adrian; she now wants to give their marriage another chance and renew their vows, but he keeps holding it over her.

* CelebrityParadox: Gordon Norris in "And the Winner is..." mentions being on post-production on Doctor Who, despite being played by Noel Clarke who also played Mickey Smith during the Russel T Davies era of the revived show.

''Inside No. 9'' is a British [[HalfHourComedy half-hour]] BlackComedy {{Anthology}} television series. ("The Twelve Days of Christine", though, was drama and listed by ''Magazine/RadioTimes'' as such.) It was first broadcast by [[Creator/TheBBC the BBC]] in February 2014. It was created and is written by Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton (the two members of [[Series/TheLeagueOfGentlemen The League of Gentlemen]] who had previously created ''Series/{{Psychoville}}''), and every episode's cast includes one or both of them.

Each episode uses a different [[BottleEpisode single location]] as the primary setting; respectively, these are a country manor, a modern designer home, a cheap London flat, an ordinary suburban house, a theatre dressing room, and a gothic mansion. [[ThePlace Each of them has the address "No. 9"]]. Locations in the second series include a Victorian house, the sleeping car of a train, a cubicle in a call centre, and a barn in a 16th-century village. The third series features a mountainside cabin, a restaurant, an art gallery, a karaoke booth and a professor's study. Series four includes a hotel corridor, church hall, country house and suburban house. Series five includes a changing room, a spooky run-down flat, a family's house, a magician's studio and a police car.

* LighterAndSofter: Despite many episodes being rather dark at times, there are a few which subvert Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton's typical trademarks. "Nana's Party" and "Empty Orchestra" are two very notable examples, as [[spoiler: no character dies, and in the latter the adulterers get their comeuppance, the cheated girlfriend gets a promotion and the deaf girl gets the guy she wanted at the end.]]. In fact, Series 4 also fits this; "Zanzibar" is a light-hearted comedy, the ending of "Bernie Clifton's Dressing Room" is more poignant than actually dark, and "And The Winner Is..." is a satirical portrayal of an awards panel, with a dramatic, but not darker, final twist. However, "To Have and To Hold" is ''extremely'' dark, but even then [[spoiler:EverybodyLives and the villain of the piece gets his comeuppance,]] while "Once Removed" and "Tempting Fate" are the only two which are rather dark.