Welcome to Development Hell, the fiery pit into which we fling recent developments in casting, distribution, and everything else that’s new and mildly interesting in the Boschian phantasmagoria of the entertainment industry.
In a stunning rejection of the usual behavior we know from him, Ricky Gervais is set to star in a new Netflix series where he plays a big asshole who says and does whatever he wants. That comes from Variety, which says the show is called After Life and that Gervais’ character will be a man who considers killing…
As he once made the transition—circa 2007 or 2008 or so—from “beloved TV creator” to “Yeah, what?,” Ricky Gervais spent early 2018 transitioning his public persona from that elaborate public shrug to an even-more-exasperated “Ugh, god.” Lately, for instance, the comedian has been harshly criticized for his most recent…
Ricky Gervais always seems like he’s a little full of himself, a quality that he smartly plays up for his jerky characters on shows like The Office or Extras, but in real life he usually tries to be a bit more endearing. In this trailer for Humanity, Gervais’ upcoming Netflix special, he’s fully in “I’m a jerk but you…
2017. A lot happened that year. LeBron James averaged 27 points per game. Riverdale hit the air. The world hinged on the whims of a petty madman. And Fred Savage became the host of the ABC game show Child Support, executive produced by and co-starring Ricky Gervais. It’s funny: One minute you’re just a 41-year-old…
Now in its 10th season, The Big Bang Theory is something of a cultural institution, its writers ably cranking out nerd jokes and also jokes about nerds for an audience of almost 20 million. As is so often the case, its jokes are met by the canned laughter, whooping, outrage, and awe of an audience of automatons,…
It’s tough to pinpoint when Ricky Gervais went from brilliant comedic auteur to “him again?” status: The Office is rightfully hailed as a classic, Extras had some truly funny moments, and even Life’s Too Short scored on occasion (though that was more frequently due to co-star Rosamund Hanson, who would’ve been made a…
Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Friday, February 10 and Saturday, February 11. All times are Eastern.
Do you enjoy watching as failed businessman with dubious entertainment skills blithely sputters nonsensical absurdities and mirthfully belches offensive comments at everyone within earshot, all without realizing that he’s not the most likable person in the room? If not, you should probably avoid the news over the next…
Clearly not realizing most parents would be uncomfortable leaving their children to be babysat by Ricky Gervais, ABC has decided to take that concept and put it into the format of a game show. Deadline reports the network has ordered Five To Survive, an hourlong quiz show, from the British comedian. And while the idea…
In the world of comedy, two countries stand tall above all others. Or at least that’s how writer-performer Ricky Gervais sees it. “The big two,” he says. “Britain and America. Sorry, rest of the world.” Oversimplification or not, it’s easy to see how Gervais came to that conclusion. These two nations have dominated…
Earlier this week, Ricky Gervais announced that Netflix had snapped up his Office spin-off movie, David Brent: Life On The Road, in which his boorish buffoon of a character finds new life as a failing singer. The first trailer for Life On The Road has arrived, and Gervais is as self-referential and self-congratulatory…
Showing the kind of business acumen that was sorely lacking in his David Brent character, Ricky Gervais has just announced that he’s gotten Netflix to snap up his The Office spin-off movie. Gervais shared the news earlier today in an interview on the Opie With Jim Norton Show on SiriusXM, despite it being top secret…
Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Friday, April 29 and Saturday, April 30. All times are Eastern.
In Ricky Gervais’ Netflix-only Special Correspondents, a reporter and a sound engineer lose their passports and tickets on the way to an assignment in Ecuador, and resort to faking coverage—as well as an eventual abduction by a made-up guerilla group—from an attic across the street from their New York radio station.…
With her second book, I Know What I’m Doing—And Other Lies I Tell Myself: Dispatches From A Life Under Construction, out this week, Jen Kirkman is pushing even further into the literary world. This time around, the comedian and I Seem Fun podcaster is both examining her own life, which she says is “permanently in…
Over a decade has passed since the end of Ricky Gervais’ The Office, but emotionally needy, casually inappropriate middle manager David Brent remains the character with which the comedian is most closely associated. And now, the former Wernham-Hogg honcho is back in a feature-length production from BBC Films, David…
Ricky Gervais’ feature-film adaptation of “Radio Bart” is finally coming to Netflix. Okay, it’s not technically an adaptation of The Simpsons episode where Bart fakes falling down a well, but it’s the same basic format. Eric Bana and Gervais (who also wrote this iteration of the original 2009 French film) star as…
Fans and critics will undoubtedly spend the upcoming days debating which of David Bowie’s many memorable songs should be considered his very greatest contributions to the canon of Western Music. While titles like “Life On Mars?,” “Changes,” and “The Man Who Sold The World” will be bandied about, some consideration…
Another Golden Globes, another opportunity for the world to gasp in horror as Ricky Gervais says mildly offensive things that are specifically designed to make people gasp in horror and get them talking about the Golden Globes. Did you clutch your pearls when he implied that Donald Trump is racist? Did your monocle…
