“Comedy is tragedy plus time,” says the film “Melinda and Melinda” – Briton Ricky Gervais (60) has internalized it like no one else. His Netflix series “After Life” proves that even the worst blows of fate can give rise to gallows humor and, of all things, new courage to face life. The new episodes of season three will be released by the streaming provider on January 14th. What can the fans expect from it?
The fight back to life
At the start of season one, journalist Tony Johnson (Gervais) seemed to have lost all hope. After his wife died of cancer, the widower lost his will to live and even considered suicide in his grief. He is snooty and condescending towards those around him – but for some reason his fellow newspapermen and the quirky residents of the small town of Tambury never let him down. On the contrary, more and more people are bumping into his life unintentionally.
Despite the newfound friends, Tony is still plagued by depression in season two. After all, he’s made a decision to stop being willfully a disgust to those around him, who, Tony notes, each have their own emotional battles to fight. Even a tender new relationship between him and a nurse (played by Gervais’ Extras co-star Ashley Jensen, 52) from the nursing home that houses Tony’s demented father seems to be in the offing.
Does everything start over?
But then Tony’s father dies and his vicious circle of hopelessness and self-pity threatens to start all over again. With that setback—but also a renewed glimmer of hope—the season two finale left us.
Season three remains true to the previous recipe for success of devastating, unpleasant, touching and hilarious everyday situations. In addition, there are numerous new and some newly ignited loves to be explored among the characters. And the fate of the local editorial office of the “Tambury Gazette” was hanging by a thread. Will Tony’s staff manage to save the ailing sheet after all? And Tony with you?