Ricky Gervais is his trademark grumpy self, just in cat form, at the beginning of the trailer for Netflix’s Alley Cats, the comic’s return to adult animation.
Gervais has assembled an ensemble cast of felines alongside his main character Gus including Tom Basden, Andrew Brooke, David Earl, Kerry Godliman, Jo Hartley, Diane Morgan, Natalie Cassidy and Tony Way.
Gervais and pals can be seen in the trailer exploring the big ideas, including life, love and death, as he lands his trademark mix of grumpiness, heart and social commentary alongside a 2D animation style produced by Blink Industries.
The series, which launches on August 7, represents Gervais’ return to the adult animation game 13 years after the conclusion of HBO and Channel 4’s The Ricky Gervais Show, which was an animated version of the popular podcast from Gervais, Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington using Hanna-Barbera-era cartoons.
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“I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited about a trailer. I can’t wait for everyone to get to know these cats,” said Gervais.
He is at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival this week delivering a masterclass and just announced a Netflix special and UK tour.
Gervais is creator, writer and director of Alley Cats, while Elliot Dear is co-director. Gervais is EP for Derek Productions alongside Steven Hamilton Shaw (Gnomeo & Juliet) of Shush Creative, and James Stevenson Bretton and Ben Lole for Blink Industries.