After Life (TV series)

After Life follows Tony, whose life is turned upside down after his wife dies from breast cancer. He contemplates suicide, but instead decides to live long enough to punish the world for his wife's death by saying and doing whatever he wants. Although he thinks of this as his "superpower", his plan is undermined when everyone around him tries to make him a better person.[2] It is set in the fictional town of Tambury, where Tony works as a journalist at the local free newspaper, the Tambury Gazette.

     = Main cast

     = Recurring cast

     = Guest cast

• Ricky Gervais as Tony Johnson, head of feature stories at the local newspaper, the Tambury Gazette. Following the death of his wife, he is depressed and suicidal
• Tom Basden as Matt, Tony's brother-in-law and boss of the Tambury Gazette
• Tony Way as Lenny, photographer at the Tambury Gazette
• Diane Morgan as Kath, the newspaper's advertising employee
• Mandeep Dhillon as Sandy, a newly hired journalist
• Michelle Greenidge as Valerie, the Tambury Gazette receptionist
• Ashley Jensen as Emma, a nurse working at Tony's dad's nursing home
• David Bradley as Ray Johnson, Tony's dad, who has dementia and lives in a nursing home
• Kerry Godliman as Lisa Johnson, Tony's late wife
• Paul Kaye as Tony and Matt's psychiatrist
• Joe Wilkinson as Postman Pat
• Tommy Finnegan as George, Tony's nephew
• Thomas Bastable as Robbie, a classmate of George's
• Penelope Wilton as Anne, an older lady and widow, who Tony meets at the graveyard
• David Earl as Brian Gittins, a hoarder, puppeteer and stand-up comedian, who above all, wants to appear in the local newspaper. Later hired to deliver the paper
• Jo Hartley as June, Lenny's girlfriend
• Ethan Lawrence as James, June's son who starts working at the Tambury Gazette as work experience
• Roisin Conaty as Daphne, aka "Roxy", a sex worker
• Tracy Ann Oberman as Rebecca, a woman with whom Tony goes on a date and then who later reappears at an amateur dramatics workshop
• Laura Patch as Jill, Matt's wife
• Anti as Brandy, Tony's and Lisa's dog, Tony's best friend and reason to keep living
• Tim Plester as Julian Kane, a drug addict, who is hired by Matt to deliver the paper (series 1)
• Bill Ward as Simon, Emma's new love interest who Tony dislikes (series 2)
• Peter Egan as Paul, the semi-retired local newspaper owner (series 2)
• Colin Hoult as Ken Otley, head of the local amateur dramatics company and a wannabe showbiz superstar (series 2)

The first series received positive reviews upon its release. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an overall approval rating of 74% with an average score of 6.29/10 based on 44 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "After Life's first season teeters tonally between dark comedy and affecting drama, but Ricky Gervais' poignant performance illuminates new sides of the actor's talent".[14] On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the series has a score of 58 based on 19 reviews.[15]

Merrill Barr from Forbes said of the series, "Overall, After Life is one hundred percent a series to check out. It's the Ricky Gervais project people have been begging for, for a long time."[16] Josh Modell of AV Club states that After Life is a "dreary, sarcastic self-pity party that also manages—in a magic trick perhaps only Gervais is capable of pulling off—to constantly point out its protagonist's intellectual superiority" and that "as a meaningful meditation on grief, is dead on arrival".[17]

The second series received positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an overall approval rating of 75% with an average score of 6.28/10, based on 20 reviews.[18] The BBC reported mixed responses from critics.[19] Ed Cumming from The Independent wrote that "all I see is a series constantly looking for easy solutions" and that "the script has a habit of using swearing where a joke ought to be".[20] In a more positive assessment, the Daily Express deemed that "Ricky Gervais is exceptional in unbeatable comedy".[21]

Wikiquote has quotations related to: After Life

• After Life on Netflix
• After Life on IMDb