Entertainment

After Life: Third series is a hit with viewers, but less so with critics

January 18, 2022 5:16 am

Mixed reviews have not deterred the third series of After Life from reaching number one on Netflix.

The final season of the hugely popular Ricky Gervais comedy was warmly welcomed by fans over the weekend, but many critics were harder to win over.

In a one-star review, Chris Bennion of The Telegraph called it a “trite, mawkish, soggy pudding of a series”.

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NME’s James McMahon, however, said the show was “going out on a high” in his four-star review.

The third series of after life currently has a healthy 76% audience score on reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, but only 33% average score from critics.

The series, which began in 2019, follows Tony Johnson (played Gervais) as he attempts to come to terms with the death of his wife from cancer.

In his grief, Tony is nasty to many people around him and seemingly uncaring about the consequences of his actions and words.

The series follows him as he grapples with his emotions and finds glimmers of hope from within his own life.

But many critics, who have generally welcomed previous seasons of the show, were disappointed by the six episodes of series three.