series began broadcasting in February 2017, with a Christmas special, "The Devil of Christmas", airing on 27 December 2016. Settings for the third series include an art gallery, a restaurant and an alpine cabin, while guest stars include Keeley Hawes, Jessica Raine, Felicity Kendal, Tamzin Outhwaite, Fiona Shaw, Jason Watkins, Mathew Baynton, Rula Lenska, Philip Glenister, Sarah Hadland, Javone Prince, Montserrat Lombard, Morgana Robinson, and Alexandra Roach. A fourth series was confirmed after the airing of "The Devil of Christmas", and began broadcast in 2018. Pemberton has said that he would be interested in an online spin-off, perhaps called No. 9A, with less experienced comedy writers. In an interview, he said "The format has so many opportunities and can incorporate so many styles, as long as you stick to the small cast, single location constraint. I think it's really important to bring through fresh voices." The show's fifth series was commissioned in February 2018, and aired in 2020. A 2018 live special received particular praise for its unusual and creative format. The episode, described as "astonishingly bold and ambitious" by reviewer Sean O'Grady, appeared to suffer technical difficulties within its first 9 minutes of broadcast. The difficulties, including the continuity announcer's voiceover, were in-fact part of the programme's plot, which centred on the premise that the studios in which the episode were being filmed were haunted. Around 20% of the audience reportedly switched off before the deception became apparent. The plot included a number of features playing with the live format, including Shearsmith and Pemberton watching the live broadcast, and Shearsmith sending a Tweet during the show. In December 2022, it was revealed that Inside No. 9 would pause after the ninth series airs. Pemberton said: "We feel it is a good time to pause Inside No. 9 after we finish filming season 9 next year [...] We're not saying it's over for good [...] but we won't be looking to make any more episodes for the time being." Episodes Series overview Series 1 (2014) Webisode (2014) Series 2 (2015) Series 3 (2016–17) Series 4 (2018) Halloween special (2018) This episode was a live broadcast, rather than a pre-recorded episode. The music, by Christian Henson, was also performed live. Series 5 (2020) Series 6 (2021) Series 7 (2022) Series 8 (2022–23) Cast As each episode of Inside No. 9 features new characters, the writers were able to attract actors who