After Life (TV series)
After Life is a British black comedy-drama streaming television series created, written, produced, and directed by Ricky Gervais, who plays lead character Tony Johnson. It premiered on 8 March 2019 on Netflix. The second series premiered on 24 April 2020. The third and final series premiered on 14 January 2022. Premise. 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 when everyone around him pities him and tries to make him a better person. Production. Development. On 9 May 2018, it was announced that Netflix had given the production a series order for a first season consisting of six episodes. The series was created and directed by Ricky Gervais, who is also executive producer, alongside Charlie Hanson. On 14 January 2019, it was announced that the series would premiere on 8 March  2019. It was further announced that Duncan Hayes would serve as an additional executive producer and that Hanson would actually serve as a producer. On 3 April 2019, it was announced that the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on 24 April 2020. On 6 May 2020, the show was renewed for a third season, the first time a fictional series created by Gervais had been extended beyond two seasons. Hanson was suspended from his position in the show during filming for the third season, due to eleven women saying that he 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 that he was "shocked and appalled" to learn of the allegations, and Hanson claimed that they were "demonstrably false", from the information given to him. Casting. Alongside the series order announcement, it was confirmed that Ricky Gervais would star in the show. On 5 July 2018, it was announced that Penelope Wilton, David Bradley, Ashley Jensen, Tom Basden, Tony Way, David Earl, Joe Wilkinson, Kerry  Godliman, Mandeep Dhillon, Jo Hartley, Roisin Conaty, and Diane Morgan had joined the cast. Filming. Principal photography for the first series reportedly began by July 2018 in London. The series was filmed in Hampstead, Hemel Hempstead, Beaconsfield, and Camber Sands in East Sussex. The third series of "After Life" began production in April 2021 and wrapped in June 2021. Reception. Series 1. The first series received mixed to positive reviews upon its release. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an overall approval rating of 73% with an average score of 6.56/10 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". On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the series has a score of 58 based on 19 reviews indicating 'mixed or average reviews.' Merrill Barr from "Forbes" 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." Josh Modell of AV Club states that "After 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". Series 2. The second series received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a certified fresh approval rating of 77% with an average score of 6.65/10, based on 31 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads: "Though After Life's second season struggles to affirm its existence, it's a solid entry for anyone aching for a little more contemplative gallows humor ." The BBC reported mixed responses from critics. Ed Cumming from "The 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". Series 3. The third series received mixed reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has 58% positive reviews with an average rating of 6.0 from 12 critics. Louis Chilton for "The Independent" gave the series 2/5 stars, adding that it was "bogged down by sentimentality". Brian Lowry for CNN called the series "admirable" and "quirky", but felt "in the final analysis, the  show never wholly [advances] beyond the initial appeal of its premise". The "Radio Times" gave it 3/5 stars and "NME" 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." Accolades. The show won Best Comedy at the 2021 National Television Awards. Benches. Netflix has collaborated with suicide prevention charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) in a mental health initiative installing park benches all about the UK. The iconic bench is the setting  across all three series where Anne, played by Penelope Wilton, sits beside Gervais' character Tony for empathy inspired conversations. Ricky Gervais is originally from Reading, where a bench has been installed at Henley Road Cemetery.