Why After Life is ‘by far the best thing Ricky Gervais has ever done’

Have you ever sat down to watch a show and what you get is nothing like what you expected? That’s what happened to entertainment reporter David Meddows when he pressed play on Ricky Gervais’ new comedy After Life. But in a good way.

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Have you ever sat down to watch a show and what you get is nothing like what you expected? That’s what happened to me when I pressed play on Ricky Gervais’ new comedy After Life.

I’ll admit up front I’m a big fan of the British comedian. The Office, the REAL one, was hilarious and his hosting of the Golden Globes is, in my opinion, without peer.

He had every single actor sitting in that auditorium terrified his laser-sharp wit was going to be levelled on them and promptly slice them in half. It was cringe-worthy and brilliant all at once and he took no prisoners.

Ricky Gervais with his dog in the Netflix show After Life. Picture: Netflix

I recently had the opportunity to interview Gervais but unfortunately ended up having to pull out due to unforeseen family circumstances. I would be lying if I didn’t say there was a little bit of relief in there — as much as I admire this man, he also scares me just a little.

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I had worked for a long time on the questions I was going to ask but was still nervous he would eviscerate me if they were even slightly off. It turns out he’s not like that at all — a colleague who did speak to him had nothing but praise.

Gervais is known for throwing any type of filter out the window. When asked recently if there were any jokes that were off limits, he said there weren’t but if you’re going to push the line they had better be funny.

Gervais in a scene from After Life. Picture: Netflix

But back to After Life. I expected this to be a pretty standard laugh about a man suffering from the loss of his wife. That sounds like a horrible expectation but I thought it might be down the track a bit and he’s coming to terms with life on his own.

What I got was far more. After Life is by far the best thing Gervais has done. It had me fighting back tears and laughing out loud in the first episode.

Gervais in After Life, a series about life after his character Tony loses his wife. Picture: Netflix

You see Tony, played by Gervais, did lose his wife. She was his soulmate and there are flashbacks (Tony liked to record their interactions a lot) that show just how close they were.

Tony, a local newspaper reporter (who writes mainly about things like a wall stain that looks like Kenneth Branagh or a kid who can play two recorders at once through his nostrils) struggles deeply with her loss and wants to end his own life.

It is a completely relatable story that has moments of pure sadness quickly followed by Gervais’ typical brand of completely irreverent comedy.

The most horrible thing about this show is that it’s only six episodes long.

* After Life is streaming now on Netflix

Originally published as Why After Life is ‘by far the best thing Ricky Gervais has ever done’