If you were a long-time Peep Show fan and are tuning in to Channel 4's Back hoping for more of the same, David Mitchell and Robert Webb have some good news, and some bad news.
"Basically, it's not Peep Show," says Mitchell. "So for a Peep Show fan..." adds Webb. "That's immediately disappointing."
They're joking - sort of. Because while they describe the scripts for Back (written by Simon Blackwell, veteran of Veep, The Thick of It and - yes - Peep Show) as "brilliant", they're also keen to emphasise that their new sitcom is a very different proposition to Mark and Jeremy's misadventures.
Once it became clear that Peep Show would be coming to an end, the pair began discussions with producers Big Talk about their next project, putting Blackwell's name forward as a potential writer. Blackwell, in turn, went away and later came back with the pitch for Back.
The series follows insecure Stephen (Mitchell), who inherits the family pub following the death of his father. But his plans to revamp the business and prove himself are scuppered when his foster brother, the charismatic Andrew (Webb), returns with a few ideas of his own.
Stephen's convinced that Andrew is a dangerous psychopath trying to steal his family, his business and his life. But the family - including Sherlock's Louise Brealey as Stephen's sister Cass - insist that Andrew's just a sweet guy trying to help out. So who's right?
"It could be that he's just this very needy guy who wants everyone to love him, or it could be that he has an implacable streak of malice and he's here to destroy Stephen," Webb says. "Sometimes we'd do two versions of a take - one as Mr. Nice Guy and one as Mr. Evil, and we found a way through the series to keep that ambiguous."
Back has been described as "more middle-aged" than Peep Show - and indeed, it was their advancement into their 40s that convinced Mitchell and Webb that it was time to wrap up the antics of the El Dude brothers.
"It used to be a show about people in their late 20s sharing a flat," Webb muses. "By the end it was almost too tragic to be funny. I mean, it was funny - that last series was one of my favourites - but it just becomes a different joke, and a different show, when they're moving into middle age."
Their new collaboration isn't entirely unlike its predecessor, though. Mitchell describes Back as "funny", "dark" and "nasty" - a billing which could just as easily apply to Peep Show.
Just don't expect any old castmates to make a cameo. "We are the only people from Peep Show who are allowed to be in the show," Webb deadpans. "Olivia Colman is banned."
Back begins tonight at 10pm on Channel 4.
