Mr Inbetween is an Australian dark comedy–crime drama television series which premiered on FX on 25 September 2018 in the United States, followed by Fox Showcase in Australia on 1 October 2018. The series is a serialisation of the 2005 feature film The Magician, which was created, written by and starred Scott Ryan as Ray Shoesmith, a hitman for hire balancing his criminal and personal lives. Ryan reprises his lead role and is also the writer for the series, while all episodes are directed by Nash Edgerton.
The program was originally commissioned for FX Australia as its first original drama production, but instead launched in Australia on Showcase following the closure of FX Australia between commission and premiere. Filming took place in various locations in Sydney.
On 9 October 2018, FX and Foxtel renewed the series for a second season which premiered on 12 September 2019. On 26 May 2020, the series was renewed for a third and final season which premiered on 25 May 2021. The series concluded on 13 July 2021, after three seasons and 26 episodes. The series received critical acclaim, with praise for its writing, directing, performances, and tone.
Contents
Premise
Set within the suburbs of Sydney, Raymond "Ray" Shoesmith (Scott Ryan) is an ex-soldier turned hitman for hire who makes a life out of balancing his criminal activities with his obligations to friends and family. He tries to be a father to Brittany (Chika Yasumura), his daughter with his ex-wife, Jacinta (Natalie Tran), a loving boyfriend to Ally (Brooke Satchwell), and a good caretaker to his terminally ill brother Bruce (Nicholas Cassim). Ray also covers for his friend Gary (Justin Rosniak) when needed, and follows orders from his boss Freddy (Damon Herriman). Ray deals with criminals and monsters in his own violent way; this behaviour, however, starts to take its toll and affects his relationships.
Cast
Main
Scott Ryan as Raymond "Ray" Shoesmith, a hitman known as "The Magician"
Justin Rosniak as Gary Thomas, Ray's best friend
Brooke Satchwell as Ally, Ray's girlfriend (seasons 1–2; guest season 3)
Nicholas Cassim as Bruce Shoesmith, Ray's older brother who has motor neurone disease (seasons 1–2)
Chika Yasumura as Brittany, Ray's daughter
Damon Herriman as Freddy, Ray's employer who owns a strip club
Matt Nable as Dave, another hitman who befriends Ray (season 3; recurring seasons 1–2)
Jeremy Sims as Rafael, a criminal kingpin (season 3)
Recurring
Natalie Tran as Jacinta, Ray's ex-wife and Brittany's mother
Lizzie Schebesta as Tatiana, Gary's Russian wife
David Michôd as Peter, a therapist (seasons 1–2)
Kenny Graham as Bill Shoesmith, Ray's father (seasons 2–3)
Rose Riley as Michele, Freddy's girlfriend (seasons 2–3)
Jackson Tozer as Vasilli, Tatiana's brother
Firass Dirani as Davros, the brother of Freddy's son-in-law who runs afoul of Ray
Edmund Lembke-Hogan as Nick
Josh McConville as Alex, the vice president of Vinnie Williams's biker gang
Eddie Baroo as Kevin, Alex's lieutenant
Kieran Darcy-Smith as Vinnie Williams, the jovial president of a biker gang and an old acquaintance of Ray's
Ben Oxenbould as Dirk, a colleague of Ray's
Mercia Deane-Johns as Steph, a shopkeeper
Mirrah Foulkes as Kate Hall, a journalist and family friend of Freddy's who interviews Ray
Sam Cotton as Adam Kelsey, Ray's timid cellmate during his brief incarceration
Bryn Chapman Parish as James, a young member of Rafael's gang
Guests
Josh Quong Tart as Luke Henson, one of Ray's targets
Benedict Hardie as Lefty, a car thief
Rahel Romahn as Hassam
Sam Delich as Yaniv
Daniel Amalm as Sam, a rude patron at an amusement park
Fayssal Bazzi as Nassir, Davros's brother
Hugo Johnstone-Burt as Jason
Nash Edgerton as Trent, Ally's pompous brother
Clayton Jacobson as Benny, a friend of Gary's
Simon Lyndon as Pidgy, a criminal contact Gary enlists to help find a missing child
Tiriel Mora as Kim, a grieving father who enlists Ray to help find the remains of his long-missing daughter
Ian Roberts as Graham, a small-time arms dealer
Brian Rooney as Dan
Jacek Koman as Remy, a crime boss
Justine Clarke as Meaghan Clarke, a former classmate of Gary's who he had a crush on
Daniel Henshall as Kenny, a former classmate of Gary's who used to bully him
Julia Savage as Phoebe, one of Britt's friends
Ned Manning as Reg
Thom Green as Jason
Episodes
Reception
Critical response
Mr Inbetween received critical acclaim for its writing and performances. On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has an approval rating of 90% based on 20 reviews and an average rating of 7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Mr Inbetween's familiar setup is quickly forgiven thanks to its expertly built tension and a mesmerizing performance from Scott Ryan". On Metacritic, the first season has a score of 75 out of 100 based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
The Hollywood Reporter called it "One of 2018's best shows... Creator-writer-actor Scott Ryan and director Nash Edgerton deliver a tour de force that gets a lot done in very little time". Entertainment Weekly named it one of Fall 2018's Must-Watch TV, praising the show's dark comedic tone:"Ryan radiates a casual toughness, like he's cheerfully counting your most breakable bones. Mr. Inbetween gets wilder as it goes along, until the season finale becomes a fully surreal, Fargo-ish tale of a hit gone way wrong". The Globe and Mail called it "a little masterpiece of quiet, compulsively watchable comedy/drama. There are no big ideas here, but the strength of its small-scale narrative is breathtaking".
The New York Times included it on their "Best of Fall 2018 TV" list, stating "The balance between dread and deadpan laughs is adroitly maintained, and there's an appealing casual improvisatory vibe". The Boston Globe said of the show's first season, "The killer with a heart of gold isn't a new trope, of course; viewers have repeatedly been put in the position of moral compromise in the past two decades, most recently with HBO's Barry. But Mr. Inbetween gives it a fresh and funny going over".
In 2019, Season 2 premiered to additional positive reviews. Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone praised it, stating "The huge improvement from an already solid first season to this tremendous second one has me wondering if Mr. Inbetween has another big leap in it — or if spending even more time in Ray Shoesmith's world might force Ryan, and us, to start empathizing too much with this very dangerous man". Ben Travers from IndieWire said, "Pair these deeper thoughts with sharp dialogue, an ideally grubby aesthetic, and strong supporting characters, and Mr. Inbetween ends up a rewarding experience worth much more exploration". Screen Rant gave it a positive review, saying "Season 2 elevates the series on nearly every level, from Ryan's writing and acting to the performances of the supporting cast and the directing of Nash Edgerton". The Hollywood Reporter called the "exceptional" second season "a brilliantly taut drama — which jams more into its 23 to 25 minute episodes than most hourlong American dramas — with a lingering emotional after-effect".
Awards and nominations
Mr Inbetween has been nominated and won the following awards:
Screen Producers Australia Awards
Logie Awards
Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards
Australian Directors' Guild Awards
Australian Screen Sound Guild
Casting Guild of Australia Awards
The Equity Ensemble Awards
Australian Writers' Guild Awards
