It is 2010. Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain have just handed Mark Corrigan a baby. Honestly, most sitcoms die the second a diaper appears on screen. We’ve seen it a thousand times—the "jumping the shark" moment where the cynical edge of a show gets sanded down by the soft glow of fatherhood. But Peep Show Season 7 didn't do that. Instead, it doubled down on the claustrophobia. It took the agonizing awkwardness of Mark and Jeremy’s lives and trapped them in a flat with a helpless infant and a very, very angry Sophie.
Think back to the "St Patrick's Day" episode. Jeremy is trying to "find himself" by joining a cult (New Wellness), while Mark is navigating the terrifying reality of a hospital bedside. It’s chaotic. It’s miserable. It’s perfect. This season captures that specific British brand of existential dread where even the happiest milestones—like birth or a new job—feel like a trap door opening beneath your feet.
The New Wellness and the Old Despair
Jeremy’s descent into the world of "New Wellness" is probably one of the most accurate parodies of mid-2010s pseudo-spirituality ever filmed. Robert Webb plays Jez with this desperate, wide-eyed hunger for meaning that anyone who has ever felt "stuck" in their late twenties can recognize. He isn't just looking for a hobby. He's looking for a soul. When he meets Ben (the "shit") and gets involved in the development of a brand of "wellness" that is clearly just a scam, it highlights the core tragedy of his character: Jeremy is a man with no internal compass.
Meanwhile, Mark is dealing with the fallout of the JLB Credit collapse.
Remember the "New Year's Eve" episode? It’s arguably one of the best half-hours of television ever produced. Mark’s obsessive need to have a "proper" party vs. the reality of three people sitting in a room eating "manky" crisps is a masterclass in social anxiety. He tries so hard. He wants to be the "normal" guy with the "normal" life, but he’s fundamentally incapable of it because he loathes everyone around him—including himself.
Why Peep Show Season 7 feels different
Technically, the show didn't change its visual language. It’s still that jarring, POV-heavy style that makes you feel like you’re invading someone’s privacy. But the stakes shifted. In earlier seasons, the stakes were "will Mark get the girl?" or "will Jeremy get a record deal?" By the time we hit the seventh outing, the stakes are "how will these two dysfunctional toddlers raise an actual human child?"
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The introduction of baby Ian (named after Sophie’s dad, much to Mark’s chagrin) acts as a mirror. We see Sophie—played with increasingly brilliant instability by Olivia Colman—spiraling. She isn't the "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" Mark imagined in Season 1. She’s a woman who has been consistently let down by the men in her life.
- Mark’s selfishness is no longer just "quirky."
- It’s destructive.
- The humor becomes darker.
- The internal monologues get shorter and sharper.
David Mitchell has this way of delivering Mark's lines—like the rant about the "purity of the New Year's Eve countdown"—that feels like a pressure cooker about to explode. It’s not just jokes. It’s a psychological study of a man who is terrified of being irrelevant.
The Zahra Factor
We have to talk about Zahra. Jeremy’s obsession with her throughout Peep Show Season 7 is a classic Jez move. She’s "intellectual." She likes French cinema. She makes him watch Solaris.
It’s hilarious because Jeremy doesn't actually like any of these things. He likes the idea of being the kind of person who likes these things. His attempt to become a man of culture is a direct contrast to Mark’s attempt to become a man of responsibility. Both are failing. Both are pretending. The scene where Jeremy tries to explain the plot of a film he hasn't watched to impress her is pure, unadulterated cringe.
The Hospital Episode and the Reality of Sophie
"The Net" and "St Patrick's Day" lead us toward a climax that feels inevitable. The hospital scenes are bleak. There is no Hollywood "it’s a boy!" moment of pure joy. Instead, there’s Mark wondering if he can get out of the room to avoid an awkward conversation.
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What the writers Armstrong and Bain understood so well is that life-changing events don't actually change who you are. Mark is still Mark. He’s still worried about his social standing. He’s still calculating the cost of everything. Sophie, on the other hand, is the one who truly bears the brunt of the season's weight.
Watching Olivia Colman transition from the bubbly colleague of Season 1 to the exhausted, cynical mother of Season 7 is a journey. You feel for her. Even when she’s being "difficult," the audience knows she’s the only sane person in a world inhabited by the El Dude Brothers.
The Legacy of the Seventh Season
A lot of fans argue about where the show peaked. Some say Season 4 (the wedding). Others say Season 2. But there is a strong case for Peep Show Season 7 being the most "complete" version of the show. It’s the year the show proved it could survive the "baby" trope without losing its DNA.
It also gave us Super Hans at his most chaotic. Matt King is a force of nature. Whether he's trying to go "clean" or accidentally ending up at a christening he wasn't invited to, Hans provides the necessary explosion of energy that keeps the show from becoming too depressing.
Practical Takeaways for a Rewatch
If you’re heading back into the depths of Croydon for a rewatch, pay attention to the sound design. The way the internal monologues are mixed has always been a secret weapon, but in this season, the "crowding" of the voices feels more intense. Mark and Jeremy are literally never alone, even when they’re by themselves.
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- Look for the small details in the flat. The set dressing in Season 7 reflects the slow decay of their lives.
- Watch Mark's eyes during the "New Year" party. The sheer panic when he realizes no one is coming is an incredible piece of physical acting.
- Pay attention to Johnson. Paterson Joseph is a titan of comedy, and his brief appearances in this season remind us that Mark’s professional life is just as hollow as his personal one.
To get the most out of your Peep Show experience, watch it chronologically up to this point. Don't skip. You need to see the "Sectioning" and the "Wedding" to understand why the quiet desperation of the seventh season hits so hard. It’s a slow-motion car crash that you can’t look away from, and somehow, it’s still the funniest thing on television.
The best way to appreciate the nuance of the writing is to look for the "unspoken" rules Mark sets for himself. He spends half the season trying to adhere to a social code that doesn't exist anymore. He is a Victorian man trapped in the body of a 21st-century IT manager.
Go back and find the "St Patrick's Day" episode. Watch it once for the jokes. Then watch it again just to see how the camera moves between Mark and Sophie. The distance between them, even when they are inches apart, tells you everything you need to know about the trajectory of the series.
Don't just watch it for the memes. Watch it for the absolute carnage of the human soul. That is the true gift of the seventh season. It isn't just a sitcom; it's a warning. If you find yourself agreeing with Mark too much, it might be time to take a long, hard look at your own New Year's Eve plans.
Check the streaming availability on Channel 4's platform or Netflix (depending on your region) to catch the subtle background gags you definitely missed the first time around—like the specific titles of the books in Mark’s nursery or the truly horrific "wellness" posters in Ben’s office.