Ricky Gervais is heading back to Netflix... but not in the way you might expect and this time he’s calling himself “fat, lazy and rude.”
The comedian will front Alley Cats, a six-part adult animated comedy for Netflix, set to stream in 2026. The slacker sitcom follows a gang of feral friends muddling through life with sharp observations, questionable wisdom and plenty of bite.
The show is “packed with Gervais’ signature style of heart and social commentary,” Netflix said.
Gervais voices Gus, described as a “lazy, rude, opinionated creature with fangs, who’s not as smart or brave as he thinks he is.”
He joked: “So quite a stretch.” Alley Cats is produced by Gervais’s Derek Productions with Blink Industries, with animation led by Elliot Dear and production design from Tang Heng (Kung Fu Panda).
The cast is stacked with British comedy favourites, including Plebs star Tom Basden, Phone Shop actor Andrew Brooke, and Gervais’s regular collaborators David Earl and Kerry Godliman from After Life and Derek. Diane Morgan, Jo Hartley, Natalie Cassidy and Tony Way also join the line-up.
It marks Gervais’ first animated series since The Ricky Gervais Show, which ran for three series between 2010 and 2012, which was an animated version which aired on HBO of the popular podcast from Gervais, Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington using Hanna-Barbera-era cartoons.
Best known for creating The Office, he has also helmed hit series including Extras, Derek and After Life, winning multiple Golden Globes, Emmys and Baftas along the way.
Gervais landed the gig despite being outspoken on so-called “cancel culture” after facing criticism for jokes about the transgender community.
Earlier this year, while receiving his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, he quipped: “And just looking around earlier at all the other stars, absolute icons, you know, Michael Jackson, Bill Cosby, Fatty Arbuckle.
“And we’ve had a few weird years of cancel culture, people telling you what you can and can't laugh at or talk about, but we pushed back and we won until the next time.”
Gervais also recently hit out at “difficult” actors who are “spoiled little brats” in a video on Instagram.
He said: “You can’t just fire an actor because they’re being an a***hole because then you've got to start again. I cant go into the studio and go, ‘I fired him he was annoying me.’
“So you've got to sort of go [mimes consoling an actor] 'f***ing hell, yeah, good point'. You've got to treat them like children, really, because they’re spoiled.”
Alley Cats arrives the same week Netflix unveiled a new comedy detective series from British creator Charlie Brooker, starring Paddy Considine and Lena Headey.
Alley Cats will stream on Netflix in 2026.
