Pinkvilla Picks: From dark humour to beautiful relationships; Reasons to binge watch Ricky Gervais’ After Life

There is no denying that Ricky Gervais is one of the best comedians out there. And if you have not seen his stand up shows yet, there is a good chance that you have seen him host the Golden Globes in all his glory. He is known for making people uncomfortable with his outrageously hilarious jokes that are not made for people who are easily offended. He wrote and directed the UK’s version of The Office, which was later adapted in America. Ricky produced the American version that featured Steve Carell and John Krasinski. We all know that show is a piece of art.

Gervais dropped his Dark comedy show After Life on Netflix last year in March and the fans showered the show with all the love and praised it for his hilarious content and refreshing plot. The show features Ricky as widower Tony Johnson. Unable to cope with the loss of his wife, Tony contemplates taking his life but he finally decides to live and punish the world by saying and doing whatever he likes. In addition to starring in the show, the actor has also produced and directed the show.

Here why Ricky Gervais’ dark comedy series After Life deserves to be on your quarantine binge-watch list:

The Plot

A formerly kind man, who was too nice to ever deliberately hurt someone, suddenly changes after his wife dies and decides to punish the world. The show is hilarious because there is no filter. This man no longer cares about how people will interpret his attitude and the things he says. So, he says whatever he feels like. He is brutally honest and extremely funny. He puts his frustration on display and keeps roasting people around him.

The Dialogues

These are the highlight of the show. Everything that comes out of Tony’s mouth is always dark and hilarious. The dialogues never fail to leave you in splits. For instance, in the first season, he confesses that he tried to kill himself but when he failed, he decided to take his anger out on the world. “If I become an a****** and do and say what the f*** I want for as long as I want, and then when it all gets too much, I can always kill myself. It’s like a superpower,” he says.

Here’s another dialogue from the show: “Here’s what: humanity is a plague. We’re a disgusting, narcissistic, selfish parasite, and the world would be a better place without us. It should be everyone’s moral duty to kill themselves. I could do it now. Quite happily just go upstairs, jump off the roof, and make sure I landed on some c*** from accounts.”

Relationships

Even though Tony’s wife dies, and he loses the most important relationship of his life, he is surrounded by people who care about him. People who go out of their way to selflessly help Tony get his life back on track. His office colleagues, his best friend Lenny, his cemetery pal Anne, and many others support him without asking anything in return. During the course of the show, these relationships grow as the character learns to accept his loss.

Tony and his dog Brandy

They deserve a special shout out because their bond is one of the best parts of the show. At the beginning of the show, Tony mentions that he wanted to kill himself but couldn’t go through with it because he did not want to leave his pooch alone. When asked why he did not end his life, he says, “The dog’s face. She was hungry.” In one of the scenes, where he opens a tin of dog food to feed Brandy, he says, “If you could open tins, I’d be dead by now, but you can’t.”

Life lessons 

This show can teach you a thing or two about life. Especially if you need notes on how to deal with loss. As the show proceeds, Tony transforms from a man who loses faith in everything good to a man who reluctantly pushes himself forward. The story will teach you how to move on. But most importantly, it will give you hope. This will also give you an escape from all that is happening in the world amid the ongoing pandemic and leave you in splits.

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