Netflix has officially let the cat out of the bag on a new “slacker sitcom” coming out next year. The streaming service shared a purr-fect first look at Alley Cats, an adult animated comedy series from the mind of Ricky Gervais, the comedy legend who has been making the world laugh for decades with shows like The Office, Derek, and After Life. His latest small screen endeavor will follow the trials and tribulations of a group of feral British cats from all walks of society, who seek companionship while ruminating on everyday life.
The first image from Alley Cats offers a look at the eclectic clowder of cats who will no doubt be getting their paws into all kinds of trouble across the show’s six episodes. However, they appear to be taking some time out here, having swapped the streets for the sofa and a spot of channel surfing (or Netflix library searching). According to Variety, Gervais not only serves as creator and director on the streaming series, he also voices one of the furry felines. He describes his character as a “fat, lazy, rude, opinionated creature with fangs, who’s not as smart or brave as he thinks he is,” which he jokingly admitted was “quite a stretch” for him.
Gervais is in good company on the Alley Cats cast as he reunites with several former collaborators from past projects, including Tom Basden, Andrew Brooke, David Earl, Kerry Godliman, Jo Hartley, and Diana Morgan. Natalie Cassidy and Tony Way are also part of the line-up. Some members of the scrappy crew are likely featured in the first image (below), which showcases the talents of the award-winning studio Blink Industries, who provided the animation for the series. The company’s Elliot Dear also co-directed the episodes.
‘Alley Cats’ Marks Gervais’ Return to Television
Two years ago, Gervais said that he would be “quite happy” never doing television again and prioritizing stand-up comedy again, per the Evening Standard, but fans can now rest assured that he hasn’t completely retired from the small screen. Alley Cats marks his return to the medium as a creator for the first time since the hugely popular After Life, which premiered its first season on Netflix in 2019 and debuted its third and final season in 2022, as part of Gervais’ multi-year overall deal with the streamer. However, after that, he indicated that he was taking a break from such projects to return to the stage. He is currently touring the UK and Europe with a show called Mortality, which is being filmed for Netflix, where it will join his slate of stand-up specials.
Gervais has pulled out all the stops for Alley Cats; he serves as its creator and director, as well as being part of the voice cast, and executive producing for Derek Productions alongside Steven Hamilton Shaw of Shush Creative. Tang Heng handled production design, following his extensive experience at DreamWorks Animation, where he worked on the first two Kung Fu Panda movies. Alley Cats joins a number of other adult animated series on Netflix, but the cat-centric premise might help it to stand out from the crowd when it releases next year.
- Birthname
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Ricky Dene Gervais
- Birthdate
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June 25, 1961
- Birthplace
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Reading, Berkshire, England, UK
