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Written, directed by, and starring Ricky Gervais, Netflix’s After Life tells the story of Tony, who spirals out into a dark, angry depression following the death of his wife Lisa. The third and final season of the dark comedy, now streaming on the platform, sees Tony continue to shut himself off from the world as his grief weighs heavily. Can his patient friends, loyal pup, and a potential love interest help pull him out of the darkness? We’re here to let you know if it’s worth sticking around to find out.
AFTER LIFE: SEASON 3: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Opening Shot: Lisa laughs and tries to row a boat as Tony films her.
The Gist: Tony (Ricky Gervais) is still just going through the motions. He avoids getting too close to Emma (Ashley Jensen), despite their obvious connection, and continues to keep his head down while working at the Tambury Gazette. He goes off to interview a quirky self-published writer/medium/psychic, keeping his composure during their conversation even though he obviously thinks she’s full of shit. When he reveals he lost his wife, she asks if he wants to communicate with her, but he brushes off the suggestion as he doesn’t believe in all that. She sends him on his way with a copy of her book, which he reads aloud back at the office to the delight (and horror) of his coworkers. Kath (Diane Morgan) chides him for scoffing at the medium, and says that she’ll go see her for a reading.
Later, Tony reluctantly attends a happy hour at brother-in-law Matt’s (Tom Basden) house, where he and his wife Jill (Laura Patch) gently try to nudge Tony and Emma together by gifting them a cactus. The whole thing is a headache to Tony, who didn’t want to be there to begin with, and he heads on his way, leaving Emma behind to talk with Matt and Jill. She tells them she knows that he doesn’t want anyone to think he’s replacing Lisa with her, so she doesn’t really stand a chance. The couple awkwardly tries to reassure her, but seem to know it’s true. So they drink. On his way home, fed up when another driver cuts him off as he’s about to cross the street, Tony throws his cactus at the Land Rover in a vicious fury. At home, he recovers with a drink and his dog, watching home videos of Lisa to numb the pain.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? After Life might bring to mind other series like Sorry for Your Loss, Catastrophe, and a bit of Ted Lasso.
Our Take: Grief has been done well on TV. Dead to Me, Sorry for Your Loss, Six Feet Under, Never Have I Ever, and even WandaVision and Buffy the Vampire Slayer have all conquered the unique experience of losing someone you love in myriad ways, from going full drama and doom and gloom to the use of dark comedy and actual superpowers. After Life falls somewhere in between, and while a competent series, has never quite managed to be the meditation on grief it seems to think it is. It has many of the right ingredients; a charming setting, a familiar story, and a delightful cast of British performers, but it feels more like an occasionally funny pity party than anything else, unable to find a consistent tone that might allow it to tell a more interesting, meaningful story.
After Life has long struggled to carry the weight it needs due to its short season length, and it continues to suffer from this as it progresses. The jokes about grief and loss certainly hit home from time to time, but without emotional truth at the heart of the show, they don’t work as well as they should. In the beginning of this final season, the slight edge from the first two seems to be gone; After Life is as bland as ever, coasting unimaginatively from scene-to-scene and avoiding anything of depth. It’s confusing, especially given the strength of the cast the show has, and Gervais’s track record as a writer. I may not be his biggest fan, but there’s no denying he’s capable of making good stuff. I just wonder why After Life feels like such an afterthought.
Sex and Skin: None.
Parting Shot: Tony drinks and watches home videos of his late wife building a snowman.
Sleeper Star: Penelope Wilton is as welcome a presence as ever as Anne, the widow Tony often receives wisdom from at the cemetery. She’s a staple in British cinema and television – helloooo Downton Abbey, Doctor Who, and Shaun of the Dead – and it’s a delight to see her on this bench, talking to her dead husband, offering profound advice to Tony when he can’t quite see past himself. We all need a friend outside our world to lean on, and Anne gives Tony exactly that, quietly understanding things that no one else can. Wilton has long boasted a natural, unforgettable screen presence, and her performance as Anne is no exception, even if her screen time is short-lived.
Most Pilot-y Line: “Just because you haven’t seen something, doesn’t mean it isn’t real,” is one line on a long list of corny, faux-profound exchanges about the nature of life and death and things we don’t understand.
Our Call: SKIP IT. While there’s something undeniably charming about the world of After Life, its final season is bland and forgettable, weighed down by cliché dialogue and a muddled tone.
Jade Budowski is a freelance writer with a knack for ruining punchlines, hogging the mic at karaoke, and thirst-tweeting. Follow her on Twitter: @jadebudowski.
