Ricky Gervais Working On New Netflix Project With ‘After Life’ Co-Stars

Ricky Gervais said he’s partnering with some of his After Life and Derek co-stars for a new animated project at Netflix.

The standup comedy great and BAFTA- and Emmy-winning writer-director-actor mentioned the project during a livestream on X on Sunday when a viewer asked if he’d be working with actor David Earl again in a drama/comedy. Earl was a series regular in Gervais’ After Life and Derek, and also appeared in an episode of Extras.

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“I am. I’m doing something with him at the moment,” Gervais said. “In fact, half the gang from After Life and Derek [are in it]. I’m working with David Earl, Diane Morgan, Kerry Godliman, Tom Basden, Jo Hartley … Andrew Brook, Tony Way — they’re all voices in a new animation [project]. I’m still working on it for Netflix.”

Gervais wrote, directed and starred in all three seasons of After Life as Tony, a writer for the newspaper the Tambury Gazette in the fictional English village of Tambury. Throughout the series, Tony struggles with the loss of his wife, Lisa (Godliman), to breast cancer as he revisits their home movies together on his laptop.

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Earl played Brian in After Life, a lonesome loser who wants to be featured in Tambury Gazette, while Morgan and Way play Tony’s co-workers Kath and Lenny.

Basden also stars as Tony’s boss and brother-in-law Tom, who is Lisa’s brother. Hartley plays Lenny’s girlfriend, June, while Brook plays an obnoxious podcaster named Ratty.

Ricky Gervais Discussed The Long Process Of Animation

During his livestream on X on Sunday, Ricky Gervais didn’t give any more details about his upcoming animated project for Netflix, nor did he reveal if it was a film or a series. Gervais did note, however, how long the process for an animated project could stretch out.

“I found some of the original sketches that I did from like September of 2023,” Gervais said, adding, ‘It’s mental. It takes so long.”

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Gervais, who famously torched several celebrity egos while hosting the 2020 Golden Globes also said of the animated project, “It’s good. It’s different.” He also noted to the user who asked the question that he couldn’t speak any further of what it was about.

Meanwhile, Gervais, who is no stranger to voice acting, is connected to the upcoming Illumination Entertainment animated comedy adventure Flanimals.

Gervais is listed on IMDb as one of the writers of Flanimals, along with Matt Selman (The Simpsons) and Rob Steen. IMDb only lists Illumination — the animated studio behind the Despicable Me/Minions franchise — as the producer of Flanimals, so it’s unlikely the Netflix project that Gervais was talking about in his livestream.

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Per IMDb, the logline for Flanimals reads, “Fifty species of creatures are so ugly and misshapen they become cute and endearing. One of these creatures, a pudgy, perspiring purple creature, goes on a mission to change the world.”

While fans are awaiting Ricky Gervais’ new animated Netflix project, they can stream all three seasons of After Life on the platform as well as Derek’s two seasons. Gervais’ standup comedy specials Armageddon, Supernature and Humanity are also streaming on Netflix.

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