Ragesh Dipu
The Ricky Gervais show, ‘After Life‘ returns for a second season. Netflix has confirmed the nod for Season 2 of ‘After Life,’ which is panned by critics and viewers as the bleakest Ricky Gervais show.
According to a Variety report, Netflix has renewed the series for 6 episodes in the second season. The reboot will start rolling in 2020. The show centers on Tony, played by Gervais, a journalist at his middle-ages. Tony’s life is in a doomed limbo after his beloved wife died of cancer.
Tony is on the verge of killing himself in desperation. But, he chooses to live as long as possible and take his vengeance on the world by spitting out whatever he thinks and doing everything his impulses prompt him to do.
His transformation is a shock for everyone who knows the old Tony. They try to bring back the nice guy they used to crack jokes with and take strolls. Eventually, it leads a stand-off between Tony and the society as he turns more surly day-by-day. His deceased wife left behind a video compilation of her witty husband’s practical jokes and instructions to run the household without her. But, Tony is broken while turning into a rude person with only his dog Brandy as a companion.
‘I have never had a reaction like this before. It’s been insane. And heartwarming. But now I have to make sure the second season is even better so I’ll probably have to work much harder than usual. Annoying really,’ Gervais says in the Variety report.
‘At the end of the day, it’s all those little mundane interactions that actually save your life — they’re the variety of life, they stop you from feeling too sorry for yourself. He’s got to take the dog for a walk, he’s got to go to work to make money to get drunk, and after all that, time heals,’ he adds.
Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos added, ‘After Life has moved audiences from laughter to tears around the world and we are thrilled to announce that Ricky Gervais will be back with a second season on Netflix. We are so proud to play host to Ricky’s brilliant stand up comedy, specials, original films and series and join in the joy of the fans with his latest hit.’
Gervais seems to be in his top form with TV hits like ‘The Office,’ ‘Extras’ and ‘Derek.’ ‘After Life’ marks his return to the prolific TV days. Gervais puts everything from sentimentality, grief, awkwardness, childishness, and his most powerful weapon, humor, into the pot of ‘After Life.’
The showman is in his misanthropic best as Tony who declares, ‘There’s no advantage to being nice, and thoughtful, and caring.’ However, the first season of ‘After Life’, which debuted in March 2019, earned positive to mixed reviews for pondering on biggest of questions and darkest of thoughts about existence.
The introspective tone of the series is not afresh for die-hard fans of the brash comedian. But, he never delivered this with such subtlety and modesty. At the core, Tony is an alter ego of Gervais himself. He often presents himself to the real world as a comedian who can say anything, without taking no notice of the consequences. The supporting cast includes Ashley Jensen, Diane Morgan, Penelope Wilton, David Bradley, Paul Kaye, and Mandeep Dhillon.
