| After Life | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | Ricky Gervais |
| Written by | Ricky Gervais |
| Directed by | Ricky Gervais |
| Starring | |
| Composer | Andy Burrows |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 18 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer |
|
| Producer | Duncan Hayes |
| Cinematography | Martin Hawkins |
| Editors | Jo Walker (seasons 1–2) Mark Williams (season 3) |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 25–31 minutes |
| Production company | Derek Productions Limited |
| Original release | |
| Network | Netflix |
| Release | 8 March 2019 (2019-03-08) – 14 January 2022 (2022-01-14) |
After Life is a Britishcomedy drama television series created, written, executive produced, and directed byRicky Gervais, who plays lead character Tony Johnson. It premiered on 8 March 2019 onNetflix. The second series premiered on 24 April 2020. The third and final series premiered on 14 January 2022.
Set in the fictional town of Tambury,After Life follows newspaper writer Tony Johnson, whose life is turned upside down after his wife dies from breast cancer. He contemplates suicide, but instead decides to spend his life punishing the world for his wife's death by saying and doing whatever he wants regardless of how it makes other people feel. Although he thinks of this as his "superpower", his plan is undermined as he realises he does care about a select few people. Over the course of the series, he stops trying to be awful and, despite never really moving on from his wife's death and remaining suicidal, decides true meaning in life comes from helping and being there for others.[1]
| Series | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 8 March 2019 (2019-03-08) | ||
| 2 | 6 | 24 April 2020 (2020-04-24) | ||
| 3 | 6 | 14 January 2022 (2022-01-14) | ||
On 9 May 2018, it was announcedNetflix had given the production a series order for a first season consisting of six episodes. The series was created and directed byRicky Gervais, who is also executive producer, alongsideCharlie Hanson.[1][2][3][4] On 14 January 2019, it was announced the series would premiere on 8 March 2019. It was further announced Duncan Hayes would serve as an additional executive producer and that Hanson would actually serve as a producer.[5] On 3 April 2019, it was announced the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on 24 April 2020.[6] On 6 May 2020, the show was renewed for a third season, the first time a fiction series created by Gervais had (excluding special episodes) been extended beyond two seasons.[7][8]
Hanson was suspended from his position in the show during filming for the third season, due to eleven women saying he had committed sexual misconduct and assault against them between 2008 and 2015. Netflix said: "Whilst the allegations are unrelated to his time on the show, we immediately removed him from the production and referred the matter to the police." Gervais commented he was "shocked and appalled" to learn of the allegations, and Hanson claimed they were "demonstrably false" from the information given to him.[9][10]
Alongside the series order announcement, it was confirmed Gervais would star in the show.[1] On 5 July 2018, it was announcedPenelope Wilton,David Bradley,Ashley Jensen,Tom Basden,Tony Way,David Earl,Joe Wilkinson,Kerry Godliman,Mandeep Dhillon,Jo Hartley,Roisin Conaty, andDiane Morgan had joined the cast.[11]
Principal photography for the first series reportedly began by July 2018 in London.[11] The series was filmed inHampstead,Hemel Hempstead, The Royal Standard of England pub in and aroundBeaconsfield, andCamber Sands in East Sussex.[12]
Filming for the second series began in September 2019 and wrapped in January 2020. The third series ofAfter Life began production in April 2021 and wrapped in June 2021.[13]
After the release of season 1, it was revealed that a copy of a 1987 painting by theAboriginal Australian artistWarlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri, which had been made by an artist commissioned to do so for a props company in 1999, had been prominently displayed in several scenes. Gervais's company agreed to pay compensation for using the copy of the work, entitledTingarri Dreaming, as well as a fee for ongoing use of the work in season 2.[14]
| Season | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 73% (45 reviews)[15] | 59 (15 reviews)[16] |
| 2 | 77% (31 reviews)[17] | 62 (6 reviews)[18] |
| 3 | 62% (13 reviews)[19] | 44 (7 reviews)[20] |
The first series received mixed to positive reviews upon its release. OnRotten Tomatoes, it has an overall approval rating of 73% with an average score of 6.6/10 based on 45 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads: "After Life's first season teeters tonally between dark comedy and affecting drama, but Ricky Gervais' poignant performance illuminates new sides of the actor's talent".[15]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the first series a score of 59 out of 100 based on 15 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[16]
Merrill Barr fromForbes said of the series, "Overall,After Life is one hundred percent a series to check out. It's the Ricky Gervais project people have been begging for, for a long time."[21] Josh Modell of AV Club states thatAfter Life is a "dreary, sarcastic self-pity party that also manages—in a magic trick perhaps only Gervais is capable of pulling off—to constantly point out its protagonist's intellectual superiority" and that "as a meaningful meditation on grief, is dead on arrival".[22]
The second series received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 77% with an average score of 6.8/10, based on 31 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads: "ThoughAfter Life's second season struggles to affirm its existence, it's a solid entry for anyone aching for a little more contemplative gallows humor."[17] Metacritic assigned the second series a score of 62 out of 100 based on 6 critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews".[18] The BBC reported mixed responses from critics.[23] Ed Cumming fromThe Independent wrote: "all I see is a series constantly looking for easy solutions" and that "the script has a habit of using swearing where a joke ought to be".[24]
The third series received mixed reviews. OnRotten Tomatoes, it has 62% positive reviews with an average rating of 6 from 13 critics.[19] Metacritic assigned the third series a score of 44 out of 100 based on 7 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[20] Louis Chilton forThe Independent gave the series 2/5 stars, adding that it was "bogged down by sentimentality".[25] Brian Lowry forCNN called the series "admirable" and "quirky", but felt "in the final analysis, the show never wholly [advances] beyond the initial appeal of its premise".[26] TheRadio Times gave it 3/5 stars[27] andNME gave it a 4/5 star rating, adding that the series had ended "on a high"; the review's writer, James McMahon, felt that the series' final scene was "moving and poignant [...] among its creator's greatest works."[28]
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AACTA International Awards | 8 December 2021 | International Award for Best Comedy Series | After Life | Nominated | [29] |
| National Film Awards UK | 1 July 2021 | Best Screenplay in a TV Series | After Life | Won | [30] [31] |
| Best Actor in a TV Series | Ricky Gervais | Nominated | |||
| Best Actress in a TV Series | Mandeep Dhillon | Nominated | |||
| National Television Awards | 9 September 2021 | Best Comedy | After Life | Won | [32] |
| Satellite Awards | 15 February 2021 | Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy | Ricky Gervais | Nominated | [33] |
| National Television Awards | 13 October 2022 | Best Comedy | After Life | Won | [34] |
Netflix has collaborated with suicide prevention charityCampaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) in a mental health initiative installing park benches all about the UK.[35][36]
A bench is the setting across all three series where Anne, played by Penelope Wilton, sits beside Gervais's character, Tony.
Ricky Gervais is originally from Reading, where a bench has been installed at Henley Road Cemetery.[37]
We hope the benches will create a lasting legacy forAfter Life, as well as become a place for people to visit.
— Ricky Gervais, January 2022 interview
| Site | Location |
|---|---|
| Victoria Park | Ashford |
| Sydney Gardens | Bath |
| Cofton Park | Birmingham |
| Ashton Court | Bristol |
| Parc Cefn Onn | Cardiff |
| Victoria Park | Cardiff |
| Calton Hill | Edinburgh |
| Gyllngdune Gardens | Falmouth |
| Glasgow Green | Glasgow |
| Stanley Park | Liverpool |
| Woolton Walled Gardens | Liverpool |
| Highgate Wood | London |
| Parliament Hill | London |
| Queens Park | London |
| Ravenscourt Park | London |
| Rookery Gardens & Woodland | London |
| York House Gardens | London |
| Wythenshawe Park | Manchester |
| Blenheim Gardens | Minehead |
| Exhibition Park | Newcastle |
| Aboretum | Nottingham |
| Highfields Park | Nottingham |
| Henley Road Cemetery | Reading |
| Lightwater Country Park | Surrey Heath |
| Vivary Park | Taunton |
Henley Road Cemetery, Reading
