Inside No. 9 is a British dark comedy anthology television program written by Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton and produced by the BBC. The first series was broadcast between 5 February and 12 March 2014 on BBC Two, and a second series aired from 26 March to 29 April 2015. Each half-hour episode is a self-contained story with new characters and a new setting, and all star at least one (usually both) of Pemberton and Shearsmith. Aside from the writers, each episode has a new cast, allowing Inside No. 9 to attract a number of well-known actors. The stories are linked only by the fact that each takes place at a number 9, whether this is a suburban house, a gothic mansion or a barn. Pemberton and Shearsmith took inspiration for Inside No. 9 from an episode of Psychoville, a previous project, which was filmed in a single room. This episode was, in turn, inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's Rope. Inside No. 9 was also a reaction to Psychoville, which featured a long overarching story realized over multiple series.