Mr Inbetween, a crime series about a Sydney hitman, has been called the third best TV show ever made, yet it remains largely unknown. The show, which streams on Disney+, was discovered by chance and is praised as better than Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, and Succession.
A chance discovery
The series was found after a colleague on an office video call asked if the viewer had seen it. Not only had they not seen it, but they had never heard of it either. It turns out no one else they have talked to has heard of it either.
In fact, the show almost never got made. Its creator and lead actor, Scott Ryan, has not appeared in any other series before or since.
The story of Ray Shoesmith
Mr Inbetween follows Ray Shoesmith, a hitman and fixer operating in Sydney's underbelly. When he is not assassinating people or collecting debts, he is trying to raise his pre-teen daughter, look after a brother with motor neurone disease, and maintain a relationship with a paramedic who does not know how he makes his living.
The show is a mix of light and dark, often funny and often tragic. It features action, sharp dialogue, and violence. Ray is a charismatic and understated anti-hero who kills without emotion but is gentle with his daughter and kind to his dying brother.
Critical praise and near-cancellation
Each episode of the three-season show is around 30 minutes long. Twenty years ago, Scott Ryan was a film student who made a film called The Magician with a budget of $3,000. In 2005, it got a limited cinematic release but is not on any streaming service now. The Guardian reports that DVDs go for $100 each on eBay.
Ryan wanted to turn it into a series but gave up after years of struggling and became a taxi driver. Thirteen years later, the network FX called him up and said it wanted to make the show. It is Ryan's only job as a professional actor.
Where it has been noticed, Mr Inbetween has been critically praised. Online reviews date from when it was released in 2018, but almost nothing since. Its fans on Reddit call it a "masterpiece" and "must-watch". The only two series considered better are The Sopranos and The Wire.
