Netflix's 'After Life' Season Two: Review

Ricky Gervais manages to keep the life in his much-loved dark-comedy after a terrific first season, with a lighter, more-matured second series, which leaves you wanting more

Ricky Gervais and the Tambury Gazette Team in 'After Life' (CREDIT: Netflix)

by Jack Linsdell

Netflix is sure keeping me occupied during the lockdown this week, debuting many new seasons to some of my favourite shows including Workin' Moms, Dead to Me and After Life, not to mention the first seven seasons of the hilarious Modern Family that they just dropped online too. So, I'm being kept busy. Anyway, within the last couple of weeks, Ricky Gervais' acclaimed and much-loved dark comedy After Life had it's much anticipated second season drop on the streaming service, and has topped the UK's daily most popular list ever since. And, I have to tell you, Gervais has done an exceptional job. Coming back for a second season is always difficult, because you're obviously dealing with more expectation than you did the first time around, and considering how popular the first season of After Life was, the fact that Gervais managed to garner the same, if not more, acclaim from this second series is remarkable. 

For those that don't know, After Life follows Tony (played by Gervais), a depressed and suicidal man suffering after the death of his wife from breast cancer. Set in a fictional English, countryside town, the first season showed Tony trying to "stay alive" and deal with his grief, while working part time at the local newspaper (the Tambury Gazette) run by his brother-in-law. Every episode saw him report on some remarkable story for the paper with as much enthusiasm as a kid has for eating broccoli, whilst visiting his elderly father in a care home, being looked after by a Nurse who Tony has a crush on. We also see him interact with a sex worker, the local postman, and an elderly widow who is always sat mourning by her husband's grave. If this sounds depressing, well...the first season kind of was, but was done in a such a poignant, charming and humane way, it never felt heavy in a gruelling sense, And, although not as "funny" as Gervais' other work, After Life does adhere to being a dark comedy with plenty of heart-warming and/or hilarious moments. Season two is much lighter, thanks in part to Tony being in a more advanced stage of grief, and therefore a "happier" place, which does allow these new episodes to feel a little more entertaining and charming than the first season.

If there's one complaint to be made, it's that the After Life is so full of well-sketched and relatable characters, all of whom you invest heavily in to, that both series are really too short to give everyone enough screen time and attention, which leaves you wanting more. As much as that's a compliment to After Life, and it truly is one of the only series to have this many loveable characters, when the format (six episodes per series, running at a measly 25 minutes approx.) is as constricting as this is, Gervais is always engaged in an uphill battle to give everyone focus. I know he puts a hell of a lot of work into it, with the caveat that he's the sole writer/director, which certainly puts a greater burden on him, but you do wonder if even 8 or 9 episodes would just give us that little more time with everyone. On the upside, some of the beneficiaries of this second season are Tony's local postman (who has a lovely, heart-warming romantic story arc with the local sex worker, becoming one of the highlights of the whole show) and the widow (played by Penelope Wilton) - both of whom benefit greatly from more airtime. We also have a lovely new character (played  by Bad Education star Ethan Lawrence), whose the step son of one of the Gazette's reporters, who becomes an intern at the paper, much to Tony's amusement. 

The casualties from season two are the Tambury Gazette team. Although there's a neat storyline regarding the paper getting closed down, and Tony taking two of the ladies who work at the paper and are struggling with this development out to coffee (creating two fantastically acted scenes), we just don't see enough of the characters individually, or as a team, like we did in season one. And, that's a shame, because I personally feel After Life is mainly set in and around the team of the Tambury Gazette (as set up by the first six episodes), with all the other settings (Tony's home, the graveyard, the care home etc.) being supporting - ultimately this is where Tony works and spends the majority of his time anyway. Also, I feel the Tambury Gazette is the heart of the show, and thus where it becomes most interesting, so to speak. And, it probably doesn't help that my favourite character's are some of the reporters, especially Cath (played brilliantly by Diane Morgan), who is severely underused here. 

If this is sounding negative, then it's not meant to be. The second series is as good, if not better, than season one, with Gervais maintaining much of the same aesthetic, yet somehow finding a lighter sophistication to these new episodes. And, considering Netflix just announced they've renewed After Life for a third season, my complaints over air time and a slightly open ended finale, are made null void really. Truly, my greatest frustration about airtime, is actually what season two does best at - ultimately it leaves you hungry for more, and I can't wait to spend more time with all these characters. And, with even more relatability packed into series two, with everything from body image to feeling left behind by society being explored, Gervais has achieved something remarkable. 

Considering the reaction to After Life from both critics and fans alike, it's clear that Gervais has managed to craft a relatable and topical series (when best to talk about grief and mental health than in the middle of a pandemic?), one which brings down the taboo barriers surrounding such devastating issues like these, and does it in such a charming and comedic way. After Life is a very human show, one that makes you feel good, and privileged, for being alive, and with a sense of community and friendship at the heart of it, is just the show we needed during these troubling times. 

5/5 STARS