9/10 (!). I recommend!
I’ve just finished watching After Life Season 2, and I loved it almost as much as I loved Season 1. I watched the first season when it first came out (to much acclaim) and so had to wait probably a year (?) for season 2. It was worth the wait. The first episode on Season 2 had me on the floor with laughter, although YMMV, obviously.
The story follows Tony, who has just lost his soulmate-wife to cancer, and is having a pretty shit time in dealing with that reality. You’ll watch him evolve and accept throughout the two seasons. There are plenty of side characters, each brilliantly acted, and each with their own mini (or sometimes maxi) mountains to climb. The dialogue is clever, the acting is superb, the pace just right and the seasons end just before they become drawn out and too long.
Make no mistake, this is Ricky Gervais’s show. If you don’t like him, or his acerbic and uncompromising points of view, you probably won’t enjoy After Life. He does not hold back, and the show almost thrives on his anger and disdain. You get the feeling that it is not just his character speaking, but Ricky Gervais through his character. That might grind you a bit, but I was fine with it.
Quotes
“I’d rather be nowhere with her than somewhere without her.”
– Tony, about his wife
“Happiness is amazing. It’s so amazing it doesn’t matter if it’s yours or not.” – Not Tony
Quick Round-up of my take on After Life:
Tear-jerker: Yes, but you won’t be weeping
Will make you really laugh: Yes
Violent, gory, scary etc: No
Strong language: Yes, it’s Ricky Gervais after all
Suitable for small kids: No
Streaming on: Netflix
Seasons: 2 (so far, a third might be coming)
Episodes: 6 per season, about 30 minutes each
Trailer
xx,
