Show has received a slew of one star reviews<\/p>\n
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Ricky Gervais says he has \u201cnever been so happy\u201d after his critically derided Netflix series Alley Cats reached the number one spot on the streaming platform.<\/p>\n
The six-part animated series, which marks Gervais\u2019 first TV comedy since the conclusion of his hit Netflix drama After Life concluded in 2022, follows a gang of foul-mouthed feral cats as they attempt to help a lost kitten find its way home.<\/p>\n
Gervais voices Gus, a cynical orange tabby, and is joined by frequent collaborators including Tom Basden, Diane Morgan, David Earl and Andrew Brooke.<\/p>\n
The series has been widely panned by critics, with The Independent\u2019s Louis Chilton giving it just one star in his review.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the past two decades, the increasingly futile question hanging over Gervais\u2019s career has been whether he will ever make something as brilliant as The Office again,\u201d he wrote. \u201cAlley Cats makes me wonder if he even has it in him to make another Life\u2019s Too Short.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 65-year-old comedian, however, seemed defiant as he celebrated the cartoon\u2019s Netflix success.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh. My. God,\u201d he wrote on Instagram, alongside a picture of the show occupying the top spot in Netflix\u2019s chart.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never been so happy,\u201d he added. \u201cBest fans in the f***ing world.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Telegraph\u2019s reviewer Anita Singh gave the show zero stars, describing it as \u201cthe worst thing to happen to cats since Cats\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlley Cats is staggeringly unfunny,\u201d she wrote. \u201cIt\u2019s bizarre to see someone of Gervais\u2019s talent produce this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile Metro\u2019s Tom Percival was similarly unimpressed, writing: \u201cI was shocked that a man I used to think was a comedy genius, a man who worked on two of the best comedies of all time and produced arguably the greatest comedy character of the 2000s, David Brent, could produce such lazy claptrap.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Appearing to allude to the criticism on Friday, Gervais posted on X, telling his followers: \u201cIf you watch Alley Cats and you get offended at any point, just remember that 1, It\u2019s just a cartoon, and 2, you\u2019re an adult, and can take it.\u201d<\/p>\n