Ricky Gervais has confirmed that more episodes of After Life are on their way, following the phenomenal response to series one of his Netflix show.
The first six episodes of After Life premiered last month and were met with positive reactions from both fans and critics.
Thanking those who’ve watched it on Twitter, Ricky admitted: “I have never had a reaction like this. The reviews have been great but the response from viewers has been fucking amazing. And that means so much more to me. You are the best fans in the world.”
He then added: “Oh, and I’ve started writing series 2.”
After Life – which was written and directed by Ricky – sees the comedian play newspaper employee Tony, who becomes depressed and suicidal after the death of his wife.
Struggling to cope with the grief, Tony decides to be as rude and destructive as he likes, with Ricky explaining to Variety that the character effectively “turn himself into a psychopath so he doesn’t feel pain anymore”.
However, it’s the programme’s depiction of grief which has really impressed viewers.
In the same Variety interview, Ricky adds: “This isn’t just a knock about comedy imagining a man without inhibitions.
“He’s really deeply in pain, this is a wounded animal. He gets drunk every night, he tries heroin, he tries being nasty, he tries therapy, but he just wants to feel better.”
After Life is just one of a number of impressive Netflix Originals to debut this year, alongside the final season of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Natasha Lyonne’s Russian Doll and, of course, the Fyre Festival documentary.