Pets (TV series)

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Pets is an adult British puppet sitcom produced by Fit2Fill Productions Limited. It aired on Channel 4 in two series, in 2001 and 2002. The show was also sold to Fox in Australia, MTV in Italy, and the Middle East.

The series was created and written by Andrew Barclay and Brian West (pen name Brian Luff), who had worked together at the Edinburgh Festival. A total of 26 episodes were made, each about 11 minutes long. They were shown in the early hours, so the show stayed fairly unknown but gained a cult following. A limited edition DVD was released on the official website, including two unbroadcast episodes, a clip show called "The Trials Of Hamish," and a behind-the-scenes special "The Making Of Pets." Some episodes are available as free podcasts on iTunes.

Pets follows four talking pets living in a dirty, rundown house with working electricity and running water. There is never a human owner shown or mentioned. All stories take place in the house and are self-contained; past events aren’t referred to, though hints may appear. The humor is surreal, with black comedy and off-color jokes, plus pop culture references. The show uses a “reset button”: each pet has died at least once but comes back in the next episode.

Puppeteers were Iestyn Evans, Mark Mander, Garry Rutter, Mandy Travis, and Martin Weinling, who swap characters as needed. Puppets were designed and built by Iestyn Evans and Andy Heath.