Am I the only person to think After Life is a total pile of wank?

[WhyTheLongFace]

Mawkish. Hateful character who was a cunt even before his wife died and even worse afterwards. Every sentence a crap cliche. And lecturing like a badly written advice column.
Utter drivel. Why are people raving about it?

[FenellaMaxwell]

No, I gave up after 1 episode. I hate that grief was used as some kind of blanket excuse for just being a complete tosser.

[Bigonesmallone3]

I fell asleep

[WarmCoffee]

Yes, just you. (And a person who only watched one episode).

[Boopeedoop]

Utter crap. I watched them all 1 after the other one evening and wondered what the fuss was about.

[Hobbesmanc]

Awww I'm not a huge Gervais fan although there were some moments of brilliance in Extras - so I didn't have huge expectations. But I thought it was a little gem. Beautifully written and performed.

[Taneartagam]

He is the same character in everything. Not funny. I watched three and gave up feeling depressed.

[Frangipane]

I cannot stand Ricky Gervais in anything. The sight of his face makes me want to punch it. But I had a slack weekend last week and decided to see how offensive he could be in After Life. Ended up watching the entire series virtually non stop. I liked it.

[callymarch]

Tried 3 episodes, couldn't get into it. Only characters I warmed to were the Scottish nurse and the dog

[golightlytoday]

O couldn't do it. Saw all the fuss about it being amazing. Don't really like RG but thought I'd try. Managed 1 1/2 episodes and just thought nope.

[TitsalinaBumSquash]

I loved it, sadly grief can make some people utter arseholes, it's just not widely shown in the media.
I'm worried how the second series will play out, I think it will be one of them that should have been a stand alone and finished after series one but we shall see.
I'm a sometimes Gervais fan though so I don't have this immediate hatred of anything he's in.

[Costacoffeeplease]

Hackneyed and as subtle as a sledgehammer. I also hated all the clips of his ‘pranks’ on his wife, if she’d posted on here she’d have been told to LTB

Everything signposted a mile off - funny bit, sad but, older woman says something funny . Very self indulgent, very Gervais

[Skinnydecafflatte]

I’m not a Ricky Gervais fan and not sure why I watched it. I thought the language and behaviour in the first two or so episodes a bit awful. But then I really warmed to it and enjoyed the interaction between the different characters. I especially loved his conversations with the widow on the bench. I was totally won over by the end and recommended it to my DH who was also wary as not a fan either but again he loved it. Hoping for another series.

[Costacoffeeplease]

Sad bit! Also - tart with a heart 🤮

[darkriver19886]

Wasnt a fan of Ricky Gervais anyway but was bored so gave it a try. Found it unfunny and dull. Also the scene with the delivery guy was unsettling and uncomfortable.

[Tunnockswafer]

It’s interestinf that lots of people say “I’m not a fan but I liked this” - certainly applies to me, heard someone else say they’d binged it and gave it a go, watched it all in two days. I didn’t think he needed to be looking for dates really to move on, it was clearly a very recent loss. I loved the other female character and some bits with his work colleague.

[JustHereWithMyPopcorn]

I watched three episodes and just didn't think much of it really.

[KylieKoKo]

I quite like it but I'm not that discerning about tv.

[SummersOnMars]

No.

[Diemme]

I hate that grief was used as some kind of blanket excuse for just being a complete tosser

So does the character but that doesn't come out until later when he works through some stuff. The last episode is actually lovely. I didn't love it but get how people have found it quite therapeutic.

[NorthEndGal]

DH and I watched it right through
I am not an RG fan, but we were both surprised at how good it was.
We both cried like fools, but that could be because we have had a lot of losses in our families lately

[Frangipane]

Yep, the only bits I hated were the flashbacks to the pranks he played on his wife. Classic RG, exactly what I loathe about him. But the rest, yes cliched tart with heart, etc, but actually surprisingly heart warming and ultimately life affirming. The visits to his dad with dementia really touched me as someone with a parent with dementia. Rather embarrassingly, I have already forgotten the delivery man. Why was that unsettling and uncomfortable?

[BooksAreMyOnlyFriends]

I loved it.

I think he showed a side of grief that most people wouldn't admit to. Hating everything and everyone. He volcalised what I would say in my head. Swearing was also a massive part if it for me, again, generally in my head. I loved Anne, played by the wonderful Penelope Wilton. Her character was a true 'listener' that you don't often get in TV drama.

[buzzbobbly]

I liked it and thought the final episode was a very nice wrap up of all the preceding.

Grief is ugly and hard and horrible. It's not just crying beautifully in a soft-focus pretty churchyard. It can make people cunts.

But hey, other people have different viewing habits. Thank goodness it wasn't mandatory to watch, eh?

[Karigan195]

I hate Ricky gervais but this had me in tears. Watched 4 or 5 so far and it’s little glimmers of light are coming in now. Personally I like it despite hating that rude crass actor normally

[Ditto66]

Agree with @FenellaMaxwell about grief being used as an excuse to be a tosser. RG is increasingly misanthropic and I don't find him funny. (Apart from the office which was genius).
I did watch Afterlife through - also widowed so interested. A lot of my widowed friends loved it tbf. But I wouldn't watch it twice. Full of cliches, 2 dimensional, and the delivery guy piece - awful.