Ricky Gervais
- 63 years old
- English
- Actor, writer, director, executive producer and stand-up comedian
Press clippings Page 33
Creating a "comedy cabinet"
Ukraine has a comedian as their premier, so let's mix things up a bit at No10. "Jo Brand for Prime Minister!"
Paul Routledge, The Mirror, 22nd April 2019Netflix confirms Series 2 of Ricky Gervais sitcom After Life
After Life, the Netflix sitcom created by Ricky Gervais, is to return for a second series in 2020.
British Comedy Guide, 3rd April 2019After Life swells Gervais's coffers by £3.2million
Ricky Gervais boosted his company's earnings by more than £3million in the last year alone, it has been revealed.
Amie Gordon, Daily Mail, 25th March 2019Gervais proves there is life after The Office
His new show, After Life, divides opinion, except in my household.
Rebecca Nicholson, The Guardian, 23rd March 2019Ricky Gervais interview
Ricky Gervais says 'getting fat, old and ugly' helped launch comedy career.
Eve Wagstaff, The Sun, 22nd March 2019After Life review
After Life is the best thing Gervais has made since Extras.
Frame Rated, 20th March 2019Ricky Gervais interview
Ricky Gervais on provocation, picking targets and outrage culture.
David Marchese, The New York Times, 19th March 2019Ricky Gervais interview
Bleakly funny, pushing boundaries, confronting taboos - we meet the man behind so many comedic creations.
Saga Magazine, 18th March 2019After Life is the latest offering from Ricky Gervais, where he plays widower Tony, a man corroded by grief (staying alive only to feed his dog) who decides to be as obnoxious as he likes and then kill himself, behaviour that he thinks is "like a superpower."
The cast includes Penelope Wilton as a widow, Diane Morgan as Tony's gobby co-worker, and Paul Kaye as a self-satisfied therapist. Apart from videos left by Tony's late wife (a touching Kerry Godliman), the heart is mainly provided by Ashley Jensen as a care-home worker looking after Tony's dad (David Bradley), and Mandeep Dhillon's rookie journalist at the local newspaper where Tony works.
The problem is the wildly swerving tone - from obnoxious to sentimental to caustic to maudlin to pointlessly vile. At one point Tony helps a junkie (Tim Plester) buy enough drugs to kill himself. Ho and ho. This just won't cut it as edgy comedy in the era of Succession, Russian Doll and so much more. After Life worked better during the running joke featuring Tony covering hopeless local stories, such as a boy playing recorders with his nostrils: "Why would people rather be famous for being shit than not famous at all?" This is Gervais's true superpower - as a carping, eye-rolling everyman.
Barbara Ellen, The Observer, 17th March 2019TV review: After Life
Ricky Gervais has completely shaken up our perceptions of what he is capable of with his latest series After Life, showing how this comic can do heart-breaking as well as hilarious.
Becca Moody, Moody Comedy, 17th March 2019