Ricky Gervais hopes the second season of After Life will be even better than the first, which would be a great achievement considering how brilliant season one was.
Before the Netflix series aired it would have been hard to believe a show about a widower could have been anything other than upsetting.
Although the show certainly had its heart-wrenching moments, Gervais managed to perfectly balance them with uplifting and hilarious scenes, creating a show which entertained a whole range of viewers.
After Life was praised for the way it dealt with death and accurately portrayed life as a widower, and in March the creator confirmed it would be back for a second season.
In a recent interview with Deadline, the comedian revealed he was ‘halfway through’ writing the new script. The success of the first season has allowed the writer to really hone in on the good parts of the show, ensuring the upcoming episodes will be of the best quality.
Speaking of season two, Gervais explained:
The second series of anything should be the best. You’ve put all your eggs into one basket, you think, but how well do you know someone after three hours? Right?
With a second series, you know who you’re writing for. You know what worked and what didn’t. It’s like having six goes at a pilot in the first series, so that first episode of Series 2 should be like f*cking hitting the ground running.
After Life stars Ricky Gervais as Tony, a widower who deals with the untimely death of his wife by becoming grouchy towards his friends and family and throwing insults out at every available opportunity.
He befriends a sex worker and starts taking hard drugs to help him deal with his grief, but ultimately it’s the relationships he forms throughout the series which help pull him from his misery.
The actor confirmed the season one cast would be back to continue the story alongside Tony and credited them with helping to make the show what it is.
He said:
I think I’ve also got the best cast of any comedy/drama in history. It’s incredible. And they’re all coming back. It’s just so much fun once you’ve already set up the world. It’s all set up for you.
Season one came to an end with – spoiler alert – the blossoming relationship between Tony and nurse Emma, and Gervais described season two as ‘the day after’, pointing out that although the main character became happier, depression isn’t something that just switches off.
He explained:
So that’s Season 2. What happens the day after? Because depression doesn’t just end. “Oh good, I have a date with a nurse, I’ll never be sad again.” Really? Well, we’ll see.
Hopefully there won’t be long to wait before we see Tony – and his beloved dog – back on the screen!
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.