Mr Inbetween

Not to be confused with the 2001 British crime drama film Mr In-Between.

Mr Inbetween is an Australian black comedy-crime drama television series which premiered on FX on 25 September 2018 in the United States,^[1] followed by Fox Showcase in Australia on 1 October 2018.^[2] The series is a serialisation of the 2005 feature film The Magician, which was created, written by and starred Scott Ryan.^[3] Ryan reprises his lead role and is also the writer for the series, which is directed by Nash Edgerton.^[1]

Mr Inbetween
Genre	Crime drama Comedy drama Dark comedy
Created by	Scott Ryan
Based on	The Magician by Scott Ryan
Written by	Scott Ryan
Directed by	Nash Edgerton
Starring	Scott Ryan Justin Rosniak Brooke Satchwell Nicholas Cassim Chika Yasumura Damon Herriman
Country of origin	Australia
Original language	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	26
Production
Executive producers	Scott Ryan Nash Edgerton Jason Burrows
Producer	Michele Bennett
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	21–32 minutes
Production companies	Create NSW Screen Australia Blue-Tongue Films Jungle Entertainment Pariah Productions (season 3) FXP (seasons 2–3)
Original release
Network	Fox Showcase (Australia) FX (United States)
Release	25 September 2018 (2018-09-25) – 13 July 2021 (2021-07-13)
Related
The Magician

The program was originally commissioned for FX Australia as its first original drama production,^[4] but instead launched in Australia on Showcase following the closure of FX Australia between commission and premiere.^[2] Filming took place in various locations in Sydney.^[5]

On 9 October 2018, FX and Foxtel renewed the series for a second season which premiered on 12 September 2019.^[6][7] On 26 May 2020, the series was renewed for a third and final season which premiered on 25 May 2021.^[8][9] The series concluded on 13 July 2021, after three seasons and 26 episodes.^[10] The series received critical acclaim, with praise for its writing, directing, performances and tone.

Premise

Set within the suburbs of Sydney,^[11] Raymond "Ray" Shoesmith (Scott Ryan) is a 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) without question. Ray deals with criminals and monsters in his own violent way; this behaviour, however, starts to take its toll and affects his relationships.^[12]

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 a motor neuron disease (seasons 1–2)
• Chika Yasumura as Brittany, Ray's daughter
• Damon Herriman as Freddy, Ray's boss

Recurring

• Matt Nable as Dave, another hitman and Ray's friend
• Natalie Tran as Jacinta, Ray's ex-wife
• Lizzie Schebesta as Tatiana, Gary's wife
• Bryn Chapman Parish as James
• David Michôd as Peter (seasons 1–2)
• Kenny Graham as Bill Shoesmith, Ray's father (seasons 2–3)
• Rose Riley as Michele (seasons 2–3)

Season 1

• Jackson Tozer as Vasilli
• Firass Dirani as Davros
• Edmund Lembke-Hogan as Nick

Season 2

• Eddie Baroo as Kevin
• Josh McConville as Alex
• Kieran Darcy-Smith as Vinnie Williams
• Ben Oxenbould as Dirk
• Mirrah Foulkes as Kate Hall

Season 3

• Sam Cotton as Adam Kelsey
• Jackson Heywood as Matty
• Tessa de Josselin as Karen
• Jeremy Sims as Rafael, a criminal kingpin
• Brad McMurray as Cullen
• Emily Barclay as Zoe

Guests

Season 1

• Josh Quong Tart as Luke Henson
• Benedict Hardie as Lefty
• Rahel Romahn as Hassam

Season 2

• Daniel Amalm as Sam
• Hugo Johnstone-Burt as Jason
• Nash Edgerton as Trent
• Clayton Jacobson as Benny
• Simon Lyndon as Pidgy

Season 3

• Ian Roberts as Graham
• Justine Clarke as Meaghan Clarke
• Daniel Henshall as Kenny
• Julia Savage as Phoebe

Episodes

Series	Episodes		Originally aired
			First aired	Last aired
1	6		25 September 2018 (2018-09-25)	9 October 2018 (2018-10-09)
2	11		12 September 2019 (2019-09-12)	21 November 2019 (2019-11-21)
3	9		25 May 2021 (2021-05-25)	13 July 2021 (2021-07-13)

Season 1 (2018)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers
1	1	"The Pee Pee Guy"	Nash Edgerton	Scott Ryan	25 September 2018 (2018-09-25)	645,000[13]
Short-tempered contract killer Raymond "Ray" Shoesmith is asked to help his best friend Gary after his wife Tatiana finds his urine-related pornography stash, so he pretends the tapes are his and lets Tatiana berate him. While out with his daughter Brittany, two youths intentionally knock into her and curse in front of her when Ray confronts them, so he has her wait in the car and beats them when out of sight. Walking back, he encounters Ally, a woman he met earlier while walking his dog, and the two exchange numbers. Title origin: Gary's brother-in-law Vasilli, believing Gary's pornography to be Ray's, refers to him as "the pee pee guy".
2	2	"Unicorns Know Everybody's Name"	Nash Edgerton	Scott Ryan	25 September 2018 (2018-09-25)	515,000[13]
Ray kidnaps and kills a man on orders from his handler Freddy, only to later learn he had the wrong person. Complying with the man's wishes for his family to know what happened to him, he anonymously informs the man's wife. Gary is beaten into a coma during an arms deal done alongside Vasilli, who Ray attacks after realizing his story is partially fabricated. After some interrogation, he learns that the deal was an orchestrated plot to rob Gary, and tracks down and brutally beats the men who hurt him. Title origin: While telling Brittany a story about a time a unicorn addressed him directly, Ray claims that "unicorns know everybody's name".
3	3	"Captain Obvious"	Nash Edgerton	Scott Ryan	2 October 2018 (2018-10-02)	551,000[14]
Ray attends a court-ordered anger management therapy session following his beating of the youths who cursed in front of Brittany, where he is almost ejected after baiting another attendee into a fight. While recovering home alone from his injuries, Gary is robbed by Vasilli, but Ray saves him after Gary texts him for help. Gary shoots Vasilli in the forehead just as Tatiana comes home, and he distracts her while Ray starts to cut Vasilli's body up, only for him to wake up while getting his arm cut off. After Gary explains what Vasilli tried to do to him, Tatiana chases him out in a rage. Title origin: Gary sarcastically says "thanks, Captain Obvious" to Ray when he points out that Vasilli was not dead.
4	4	"On Behalf of Society"	Nash Edgerton	Scott Ryan	2 October 2018 (2018-10-02)	426,000[14]
Meeting with Davros, Freddy's relative and a crime boss whose men Ray beat up after they beat Gary, Ray disrespects him. Despite Freddy's warnings to leave it alone, Davros sends three men after Ray regardless. Now dating Ally, Ray has a violent incident in a parking lot that she bears witness to, his outburst disturbing her. At a therapy session, Ray reveals his violent philosophy regarding people he views as detriments to society. That night, Ray notices Davros' men watching his house and lures them to a remote area, where he kills them with a Patchett submachine gun gifted to him by Gary. He returns home to Ally, who can smell the gunpowder on him but cannot identify it. Title origin: When Ray claims he beats up people he feels are detrimental to the public, his group leader sarcastically thanks him "on behalf of society".
5	5	"Hard Worker"	Nash Edgerton	Scott Ryan	9 October 2018 (2018-10-09)	408,000[15]
Ray and Gary discover that one of their associates is an undercover cop, but Ray decides to drive him out into the wilderness and let him go rather than kill him. He is later kidnapped by Dave and Bobby, two hitmen hired by Davros to collect and deliver Ray to him, but stalls for time by revealing he has a strongbox hidden holding more money than they are doing the job for. The hitmen privately plan to take the money and deliver him to Davros anyway, and Ray leads them to the strongbox but claims to not remember the combination. As Dave buys a gas cutting torch, Bobby leaves Ray in the trunk of their car to go buy cigarettes and both return to find the car gone. Title origin: When Dave asks Ray how he makes so much money, Ray smugly tells him "I'm a hard worker".
6	6	"Your Mum's Got a Strongbox"	Nash Edgerton	Scott Ryan	9 October 2018 (2018-10-09)	319,000[15]
Two petty criminals steal Dave and Bobby's car with Ray still in the trunk and sell it to a mechanic, who abandons it upon discovering Ray inside. Ray escapes from the trunk, later coming across the crooks with his strongbox and taking it back by force, only to be found and again kidnapped by Dave and Bobby. They drive him out into the woods to meet Davros, who demands the hitmen split Ray's money with them. As Bobby cuts it open, the empty, rigged strongbox explodes, giving Ray time to kill Bobby and Davros. He leaves Dave alive out of respect and buries the bodies, getting a call from Ally and claiming he will be late to meet her because of work obligations. Title origin: While walking away from the auto shop with Ray's strongbox, one of the criminals jokes to the other that "your mum's got a strongbox".

Season 2 (2019)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers
7	1	"Shoulda Tapped"	Nash Edgerton	Scott Ryan	12 September 2019 (2019-09-12)	506,000[16]
After Freddy hires two incompetent junkies who botch their corpse disposal, he sends Ray to kill them and get rid of all three bodies. Driving out into the wilderness, Ray finds himself connecting with one but provokes the other into pointing a gun at him when he asks for him to put his ice pipe out. Ray intentionally crashes the car, killing both hitmen, and burns the remains. Title origin: After Ray is wrestled into submission and nearly choked out at his gym by teenage Samantha, his friend tells him that he "shoulda tapped".
8	2	"Don't be a Dickhead"	Nash Edgerton	Scott Ryan	19 September 2019 (2019-09-19)	539,000[17]
Ray visits the mother of Brittany's classmate after learning she is being cyberbullied, but she remains adamant of her daughter's innocence and sends the police to his house after feeling she is being threatened. Understanding he cannot approach the girl himself, he sends Samantha to threaten her on his behalf. Later, he tells Ally how he was bullied as a boy and abused at home, and how he considered suicide but ultimately decided against it. Title origin: Ray casually challenges the mother to call the police on him, and she retorts with "don't be a dickhead".
9	3	"I Came from Your Balls?"	Nash Edgerton	Scott Ryan	26 September 2019 (2019-09-26)	383,000[18]
While out with Brittany and Ally at a carnival, Ray almost gets into a violent altercation, but Ally stops him. Brittany later walks in on Ally and Ray having sex, forcing them to awkwardly explain the concept to her. Ray's MND-stricken brother Bruce moves into his garage. Ray goes to collect debt from a man whose mother happens to be home, and he is forced to wait until she leaves, smashing a ukulele in the man's face for the inconvenience. Title origin: Brittany asks "I came from your balls?" when Ray explains how babies are made.
10	4	"Monsters"	Nash Edgerton	Scott Ryan	3 October 2019 (2019-10-03)	332,000[19]
Ray is hired by an elderly man dying of cancer to find the body of his teenage daughter, having been missing for twenty-four years. Pointed in the direction of Dennis Miller, a convicted pedophile who was the prime suspect in her disappearance, Ray drowns and tases him until he admits he murdered her and stashed the body in a train tunnel. Ray has him lead him to the body and calls her father, allowing him to see it and take a locket from her body back. Miller feebly tries to apologize to the father as he leaves him alone with Ray, who stalks towards him. Title origin: When Brittany asks to sleep in Ray's bed, she claims she is being terrorized by "monsters" under hers.
11	5	"Can't Save You"	Nash Edgerton	Scott Ryan	10 October 2019 (2019-10-10)	394,000[20]
Ray reluctantly promises Brittany he will give up smoking. At a Christmas party with Ally's family, he attacks her brother when he takes a gift meant for Brittany during a game of Secret Santa. When he tries to blame it on his inability to smoke and de-stress, Ally tells him that she left her similarly violent fiancée of three years after he started attacking her, and that she loves him but cannot risk it happening again, ultimately leaving him. Title origin: In a cut line shown in the season 2 trailer, Ally tells Ray "but I can't save you, I can only save myself" during their breakup.
12	6	"Let Me Stop You There"	Nash Edgerton	Scott Ryan	17 October 2019 (2019-10-17)	360,000[21]
Ray collects Ally's things from his house and throws them out. He spends time with his dog in the park where he and Ally first met, but ends up getting into an argument with a woman who refuses to pick up her dog's excrement. He gets a job to strong-arm a woman blackmailing his hirer, only to negotiate a lower price when he learns the man had an extramarital affair that left the woman pregnant. He and Ally see each other at a supermarket and she leaves in a hurry, provoking him to drive to a park where she etched a heart into a tree for him and destroy it with an axe. Title origin: While the man who hired him tries to get out of paying the reduced blackmail price, Ray interrupts with "let me stop you there, mate, okay?"
13	7	"Watch Out for Snakes"	Nash Edgerton	Scott Ryan	24 October 2019 (2019-10-24)	415,000[22]
Ray takes Bruce to visit their estranged father Bill, refusing to see him and only coming in to help Bruce up and into the car. Hired by Alex, the vice president of a motorcycle club to kill president and old acquaintance Vinnie, Ray takes Gary out to Vinnie's family farm to act as a getaway driver. He dons camouflage and creeps towards the farm with a sniper rifle, but is caught on a security camera by Dave, now Vinnie's bodyguard, the camouflage concealing his identity. He takes shots at Vinnie and misses, fleeing with Gary. Later, he reads Jack and the Beanstalk to Brittany before bed, and adds on an ending where Jack is arrested for theft and murder after she expresses displeasure with him being the story's hero. Title origin: As Ray leaves to go kill Vinnie, Gary calls after him to "watch out for snakes!"
14	8	"See You In Your Dreams"	Nash Edgerton	Scott Ryan	31 October 2019 (2019-10-31)	344,000[23]
Freddy asks Ray to do him a favor and speak to a friend's daughter, a journalist writing a book on criminal mentality. He talks to her and reveals his complete indifference to the evil nature of his work. Ray and Gary kidnap Vinnie, who admits to Ray that he sees the people he has killed when he sleeps, and tells Ray that he will "see you in your dreams" before he is killed. Freddy fires Dirk, a bouncer and a military friend of Ray's, who robs him in retaliation. Freddy orders Ray to kill him, but he instead tries to convince him to leave town. Dirk states that he is haunted by his experiences in the military, including one where he killed a child, and instead chooses to commit suicide. Title origin: Vinnie tells Ray that he will "see you in your dreams" just before he is killed.
15	9	"Socks Are Important"	Nash Edgerton	Scott Ryan	7 November 2019 (2019-11-07)	432,000[24]
Dirk's daughter Maddy gets kidnapped while Ray and Brittany are out with her. Ray attacks a sex offender misidentified as the perpetrator and Davros' brother, who had threatened him earlier, both of them innocent. Meanwhile, Gary tracks down a man who had bought weed from a man who he discovered was a child trafficker, getting his location. Gary attacks him and his accomplices in their home, discovering Maddy being held in a secret room and locking them inside after taking her out. He returns her to her mother, while Ray goes to the traffickers' house and kills them with a shovel. Title origin: When Brittany proclaims socks "boring" while shopping, Ray insists that "socks are important".
16	10	"Nice Face"	Nash Edgerton	Scott Ryan	14 November 2019 (2019-11-14)	409,000[25]
Freddy dissociates himself from Ray after the incident with Davros' brother. While out target shooting with his dog, Ray is attacked by two bikers sent by Alex and kills them, sustaining damage to his eye in the process. His dog is killed in the crossfire, and so Ray contacts Dave, who happily helps him kidnap Alex to pay him back for sparing him. Alex convinces them that he has a large sum of money hidden away and negotiates his life for it, and they drive off to go get it. Title origin: After Ray has his eye injured and the biker he is fighting has his nose bitten into, he snarks "nice eye" and Ray retorts with "nice face".
17	11	"There Rust, and Let Me Die"	Nash Edgerton	Scott Ryan	21 November 2019 (2019-11-21)	383,000[26]
While they dig up Alex's money, he flees into the woods and escapes, despite the best efforts of Ray, Dave, and Gary, who Ray brought along as backup. They finish digging up the money and keep it. Ray and Brittany bury his dog. Bruce, now needing a wheelchair and not wanting to live with his disease any longer, indulges Brittany's obsession with being an actress by reenacting Romeo and Juliet with her. He and Ray drive to their run-down childhood home, where he begs his brother to forgive their father for his abuse. At Bruce's request, Ray euthanizes him with medication and burns the house down with his body inside. Title origin: "There rust, and let me die" is Juliet's last line in Romeo and Juliet before she commits suicide, and is repeated by Brittany while reenacting the play with Bruce.

Season 3 (2021)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers
18	1	"Coulda Shoulda"	Nash Edgerton	Scott Ryan	25 May 2021 (2021-05-25)	440,000[27]
Four men conspire to make an arms deal with Ray and Gary and rob them, having one of them pretend to be wounded to make it look authentic. Ray easily sees through this after the faker's friends steal the guns, making him call them and arrange a meeting to get the guns back. When he asks for the money they were going to pay him and is refused, he, Gary and Dave attack the men, killing them all except for the leader, who dies from his injuries after lamenting leading his friends to their deaths. Troubled, Ray chooses not to take a share of the money. Ray gets arrested and jailed after attacking a man over a traffic dispute, and befriends his cellmate Adam. Ray calls Brittany and asserts that everything is fine, not telling her where he is. Title origin: As the leader of the robbers dies, he remarks to Ray that he "should've given you the fucking cash", and Ray muses "coulda, shoulda".
19	2	"Champ"	Nash Edgerton	Scott Ryan	25 May 2021 (2021-05-25)	290,000[27]
Freddy visits Ray in prison, hiring him to do a job for crime boss Rafael where he attacks a man with boiling water. Adam teaches him to meditate and they have a debate over whether or not violence is the proper way to settle conflicts, and Adam is eventually brutally attacked by an inmate he referred to as "champ", not knowing it to be prison slang for "cocksucker". Dave tracks down the man who got Ray imprisoned and threatens him into dropping the charges. Ray goes to see Brittany as soon as he gets out, who learned from a friend's mother that he was in prison. He tries to convince both her and the mother that the incident was not his fault, but he fails with both of them. Title origin: Adam refers to a violent prisoner as "champ", unaware he is actually calling him a "cocksucker".
20	3	"All I Ever Wanted"	Nash Edgerton	Scott Ryan	1 June 2021 (2021-06-01)	300,000[27]
Gary, still hung up on his now ex-wife, spies on her and her new girlfriend but gets stuck on their balcony. He calls Ray to come help him, but Tatiana catches him climbing down from the balcony, causing him to fall. Ray invites him to come live with him. He encounters a pregnant Ally while out, and the two have a peaceful, tender encounter before parting ways. The deteriorating Bill is detained after starting a fire in his apartment, and Ray reluctantly lets him move in, despite him believing Ray is Bruce. Later that night, Bill wanders off, and Ray is forced to track him down and bring him back home. Title origin: As Ray and Ally part ways, he remarks that "I'm glad you're happy, darling. It's all I ever wanted".
21	4	"Cut the Crap Princess"	Nash Edgerton	Scott Ryan	8 June 2021 (2021-06-08)	273,000[27]
Brittany finds Ray's pistol and messes around with it, accidentally shooting a hole through her wall just as he comes home. She tries to hide it, but he notes her strange behavior and the smell of gunpowder and realizes what she has done, forcing him to tighten the gun's security. Gary asks Ray to go back to his old house and get something from his porn closet, and he has a hostile encounter with Tatiana and her girlfriend while there. The item turns out to be a sex toy shaped like a foot, which Ray does not understand the appeal of. Rafael hires Ray to do another job, disposing of an overdosed woman's body by feeding it to a drift of pigs, but he instead decides to bury it in the nearby woods. Title origin: When Brittany denies firing the gun, Ray tells her to "cut the crap, princess".
22	5	"Before I Went to War"	Nash Edgerton	Scott Ryan	15 June 2021 (2021-06-15)	321,000[28]
Mistrustful of Brittany's new boyfriend Adrian, Ray has Gary come with him to a beach they are on and spy on them, only for Brittany to notice him. Gary starts a home pornography business, but only attracts the attention of a same-sex couple. The owner of Ray's frequented gym commits suicide after being scammed and losing his savings. Ray stops his son from hiring a hitman and offers to kill him for free, which he does by hanging him from his ceiling after taking all his money. Bill is moved into an assisted living facility, where he apologizes to Ray for his abusive childhood, lamenting how going to war changed him and wishing Ray could have known him as a better father before he changed. Title origin: Bill tells Ray that he wishes "you had've known me before I went to war".
23	6	"Ray Who?"	Nash Edgerton	Scott Ryan	22 June 2021 (2021-06-22)	418,000[29]
Ray and Gary go to their high school reunion, where nobody seems to remember Ray. When Gary is continually made fun of by an old bully, Ray starts a brawl that gets them both thrown out. Adrian gives Brittany MDMA, and Ray attacks him, getting the location of the dealer and warning him never to talk to Brittany again. Ray catches the dealer receiving oral sex from an underaged girl, breaking in and waiting for her to leave before starting towards him, leaving his fate unknown. Ray and Brittany argue once she comes down from her high, but ultimately have a discussion where he admits he wants to shelter her from the evil he sees in the world, but acknowledges he cannot protect her forever and asks that she talk to him if she feels she needs to, which she agrees to. Title origin: When Ray introduces himself to the man he ends up fighting, he asks "Ray who?"
24	7	"I'm Your Girl"	Nash Edgerton	Scott Ryan	29 June 2021 (2021-06-29)	336,000[30]
Freddy's girlfriend approaches Ray for help when she notices him sporting various injuries, aware of his gambling addiction and debt. Ray approaches the crime boss Freddy owes money to and promises free use of his services in exchange for giving Freddy more time to repay his debt. Rafael has Ray accompany him on a drug deal, and he is forced to ride with Zoe, a university student. They find themselves getting along over the next couple of days, and, after a conversation about their past relationships, end up having sex. Title origin: Going to university for graphic design, Zoe tells Ray that "I'm your girl" should he ever need a job done.
25	8	"I'll See You Soon"	Nash Edgerton	Scott Ryan	6 July 2021 (2021-07-06)	331,000[31]
Ray and Zoe take Polaroids of each other with her camera over breakfast. They hit a kangaroo while on the road and crash, and an elderly couple pulls over to help them after Ray calls Rafael, who arrives and kills them. Rafael promises to take the grievously injured Zoe to the hospital, while Ray drives the couple's RV out into the desert, buries their bodies, and spends the next day hiking back to civilization. He steals a car and drives it to the drop-off point, where Rafael informs him Zoe died en route to the hospital. Ray blames him for his handling of the situation and leaves, passing by the crashed car on the way. He gets out of his car and stares at the sunset, deeply distressed. Title origin: Ray promises Zoe that "I'll see you soon, darling" as he helps her into Rafael's car.
26	9	"I'm Not Leaving"	Nash Edgerton	Scott Ryan	13 July 2021 (2021-07-13)	294,000[32]
Ray decides to sell his house. He takes Brittany to meet Bill for the first time, now seemingly at peace with him. As he sets up his trailer out in the wilderness, Gary informs him that his pornography business has taken off. Freddy sends Ray to go look for Alex, who has resurfaced, and he takes Dave with him, only to be ambushed by Rafael and two of his men. They shoot Dave, who dies of his injuries after begging Ray to take care of his young son. Ray kills Rafael's men, chases him down, and kills him. Realizing Freddy betrayed him, Ray confronts him in his home. Freddy insists Rafael would have killed him if he did not give Ray up, and Ray, to Freddy's surprise, leaves him untouched. Some time later, Ray has gained weight, grown his hair out, and started working as a taxi driver, keeping the picture he took of Zoe in his car's sun visor. He picks up two young men, who he realizes are planning to attack him. When one of them remarks that "someone might die out here tonight", Ray stops the car and grins knowingly at him, before looking at the viewer. Title origin: Brittany asks Ray why is he moving away, and he insists that "I'm not leaving".

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".^[33] On Metacritic, the first season has a score of 75 out of 100 based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[34]

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".^[35] 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".^[36] 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".^[37]

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".^[38] 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".^[39]

In 2019, Season 2 premiered to additional positive reviews.^[40] 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".^[41] 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".^[42] 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".^[43] 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".^[44]

The third and final season, which premiered in 2021, received critical praise as well. The New York Times ranked it on their list of "Best TV Shows of 2021"^[45] calling it "a smart, deadpan, quietly daft deconstruction of tough-guy clichés".^[46] Critic Mike Hale of The New York Times praised it as "a small marvel of sustained tone. The slightest overstatement or sentimentality could capsize the delicate sendup of tough-guy clichés, but Ryan (who writes all the episodes and plays the protagonist, Ray Shoesmith) rarely makes a wrong step".^[47]

Awards and nominations

Mr Inbetween has been nominated and won the following awards:^[48]

Screen Producers Australia Awards

Year	Category	Nominee	Result
2022	Drama Series Production of the Year	Michele Bennett, Nash Edgerton	Nominated
2018	Drama Series Production of the Year	Michele Bennett, Nash Edgerton, Scott Ryan, Jason Burrows	Won

Logie Awards

Year	Category	Nominee	Result
2022	Most Outstanding Actor	Scott Ryan	Nominated
	Most Outstanding Supporting Actor	Matt Nable	Nominated
2019	Most Outstanding Actor	Scott Ryan	Won

Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards

Year	Category	Nominee	Result
2021	Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama	Scott Ryan	Won
	Best Screenplay in Television	Scott Ryan for "Ray Who?"	Won
	Best Guest or Supporting Actor in a Television Drama	Matt Nable	Nominated
	Best Guest or Supporting Actor in a Television Drama	Justin Rosniak	Nominated
	Best Drama Series	Michele Bennett, Nash Edgerton, Blue-Tongue Films, Pariah Productions	Nominated
	Best Direction in a Television Drama or Comedy	Nash Edgerton for "Ray Who?"	Nominated
2019	Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama	Scott Ryan	Won
	Best Guest or Supporting Actor in a Television Drama	Damon Herriman	Nominated
	Best Guest or Supporting Actress in a Television Drama	Brooke Satchwell	Nominated
	Best Drama Series	Michele Bennett, Nash Edgerton, Blue-Tongue Films	Nominated
2018	Best New Talent	Scott Ryan	Won
	Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama	Scott Ryan	Nominated
	Best New Talent	Chika Yasumura	Nominated
	Best Television Drama Series	Michele Bennett	Nominated
	Best Direction in a Television Drama or Comedy	Nash Edgerton for "Unicorns Know Everybody's Name"	Nominated
	Best Screenplay in Television	Scott Ryan for "Unicorns Know Everybody's Name"	Nominated

Australian Directors' Guild Awards

Year	Category	Nominee	Result
2021	Best Direction in a TV or SVOD Drama Series	Nash Edgerton for "Ray Who?"	Nominated
2020	Best Direction in a TV or SVOD Drama Series	Nash Edgerton for "Monsters"	Nominated
2019	Best Direction in a TV or SVOD Drama Series	Nash Edgerton for "On Behalf of Society"	Nominated

Australian Screen Sound Guild

Year	Category	Result
2021	Best Sound for a Drama or Comedy (over 30 Minutes)	Won

Casting Guild of Australia Awards

Year	Category	Nominee	Result
2019	Best Casting in a TV Comedy	Kirsty McGregor	Won
2018	Best Casting in a TV Comedy	Kirsty McGregor	Nominated

The Equity Ensemble Awards

Year	Category	Nominee	Result
2019	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Series in a Drama Series	Scott Ryan, Damon Herriman, Justin Rosniak, Brooke Satchwell, Nicholas Cassim, Chika Yasumura, Natalie Tran	Nominated

Australian Writers' Guild Awards

Year	Category	Nominee	Result
2018	Comedy – Situation or Narrative	Scott Ryan	Nominated

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External links

• Official website at FX
• Mr Inbetween at IMDb