Sam Bain (born 3 August 1971) is a British comedy writer, best known for the Channel 4 sitcom Peep Show. He attended St Paul's School in London before graduating from the University of Manchester, where he met his writing partner Jesse Armstrong.
Biography from TMDB.
- August 3, 1971 (55)
- London, England, UK
- Writer and producer
- 14 on MovieCove · 25 credits in all
What are Sam Bain's films like?
Across their 6 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Morality.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
A split, not a type: Ironic 2 · Wry 0 · Earnest 1
Light 1 · Serious 1 · Dark 1
Grounded 2 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0
A split, not a type: Gentle 0 · Charged 1 · Intense 2
A split, not a type: Steady 0 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 0 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 2
Slow burn 0 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0
Casual 2 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 0 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 0
Resolved 2 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Bittersweet4
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Sam Bain's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 13 of their 14 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (6).
- BritBox
Subscription and free streaming for Sam Bain's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
25 credits, 14 with a MovieCove page.
Time Bandits(2024)
Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all shows
The Stand In(2020)
Midcredits score: 10th percentile of all films
Corporate Animals(2019)
Midcredits score: 6th percentile of all films
Dead Pixels(2019)
Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all shows
Room 104(2017)
Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all shows
Ill Behaviour(2017)
Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all shows
Babylon(2014)
Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all shows
Bad Sugar (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Fresh Meat(2011)
Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all shows
Four Lions(2010)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
Rev.(2010)
Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all shows
The Old Guys (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
Childrens Hospital(2008)
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all showsLadies and Gentlemen (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
Magicians (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
The Thick of It(2005)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows
Peep Show(2003)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows
Seriously Weird (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
The Story of Tracy Beaker (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
My Parents Are Aliens (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
Smack the Pony (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
Days Like These (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
The Queen's Nose (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)
Jonty (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 24 titles, 23 of them dated from 1995 to 2024.
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Sam Bain's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 10th percentile, the median of all 3; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 16th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up7
- 50th to 74th2
- 25th to 49th1
- Below 25th4
Shape of the crowd
5 of their 14 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved3
- Universally Panned1
- Crowd Pleaser5
- Mixed5
Reviewers score the dialogue 55/100 and the plot and story 40/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Sam Bain's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Sam Bain work with?
People who share at least 2 of Sam Bain's MovieCove titles; Simon Wilson shares the most, 2.
- Simon WilsonShared titles: Ill Behaviour (2017), Rev. (2010)See all 2 shared titles with Simon Wilson
- Jesse ArmstrongShared titles: Dead Pixels (2019), Four Lions (2010)See all 2 shared titles with Jesse Armstrong
