Stewart Lee says Ricky Gervais’s ‘abysmal’ After Life is ‘one of the worst things ever made by a human’

‘The Office’ creator’s Netflix comedy concluded its third season earlier this year

Acclaimed comedian Stewart Lee has heaped scorn on Ricky Gervais’s hit Netflix series After Life.

After Life follows the exploits of a curmudgeonly widower (Gervais) who slowly rediscovers his lust for life.

In an interview with Rob Brydon for his podcast Brydon &, Lee discussed the merits of Gervais’s series, describing it as “abysmal”.

“I think The Office is brilliant. I think Ricky’s comedy drama work is of diminishing returns to the point where it’s now abysmal,” he said. “I think it must be very sad.

“If you’re teaching drama or creative writing, how can you make a case for the things that make drama and creative writing good when After Life is a success? Because your kids could just go, ‘But none of those things happen in this!’ And yet, millions people watch it.

“I think it’s one of the worst things that’s ever been made by a human,” added Lee, who has been known to use hyperbole for comic effect in his stand-up routines.

After Brydon pointed out that Gervais had cited Lee as an influence on him, the comedian responded: “Well, I don’t suppose Robert Oppenheimer felt great about having created the atomic bomb.”

You can read The Independent’s two-star review of After Life’s third and final season here.

Lee’s new stand-up show, Basic Lee, is playing at London’s Leicester Square Theatre from 16 September until the end of the year, before touring nationwide.