Ricky Gervais to star in new show inspired by one of his tweets

The new show has already begun filming in Berlin

Ricky Gervais is starring in a new television series that’s been inspired by one of his tweets.

Greenlight – German Genius, is a new eight-part series made by WarnerMediaGermany and was inspired by a tweet Gervais posted in 2019 to German actor Kida Ramadan.

After seeing Ramadan’s performance as Toni Hamady in 4Blocks, Gervais called his portrayal “a masterpiece” in a tweet.

Now, both Ramadan and Gervais are starring together as fictionalised versions of themselves in the new series, which has just begun filming in Berlin.

The show’s plot sees Ramadan asking Gervais if he can create a German version of his hit show, Extras.

Ramadan and Gervais later run into difficulty when they both realise they’ll struggle to find the number of celebrities needed for the show in Germany.

Anke Greifeneder, Vice President of the original 4Blocks production at WarnerMedia, told Variety, “Ricky Gervais’ tweet did actually happen and ultimately led to the idea for the series.

“After the mockumentary Other Parents and the dramedy The Mopes, we are once again showing a completely different variety of humour in our latest Warner TV Original and are delighted to have attracted this outstanding cast.”

The show’s script was written by Cüneyt Kaya, Detlev Buck, Seraina Nyikos, while Constantin Lieb and Kaya and Buck are the directors.

Back in September, Gervais won a National Television Award for Best Comedy for his Netflix series After Life.

“I’ll keep it short – it’s already interminable,” Gervais joked halfway through the two-and-a-half-hour long National Television Awards ceremony on Thursday night (9 September).

“I do [this] for the money … you’re the second reason,” he deadpanned to the crowd, as he accepted the prize.

Gervais beat off competition from Friday Night Dinner andSex Education to win the award.