‘Alley Cats’ review: look what Ricky Gervais has dragged in

Ricky Gervais has described animated series Alley Cats – his latest project as creator, writer, director and star – as “a cross between a sitcom and a Pixar movie. But with swearing.” If that’s the case, you have to worry about what Pixar movies he’s been watching, as the studio’s output shares little DNA with this unpleasant six-parter. It’s easier to see where the sitcom inspiration figures – Alley Cats is basically a feline spin on Gervais mega-successful Netflix hit After Life. Gervais stars as a misanthropic curmudgeon with a deeply buried heart of gold, surrounded by familiar faces (well, voices) from After Life: Tom Basden, Diane Morgan, Kerry Godliman, Jo Hartley, David Earl, Andrew Brooke and Tony Way all appear. READ MORE: The best TV shows of 2026… so far! Alley Cats has very little to offer any potential audience members outside of the Gervais faithful or people who find the c-word inherently funny. Unusually for animation, Gervais and his ensemble recorded the dialogue – discursive ad libs and all – before a single frame was drawn and the show was built around the voices. Maybe that goes some way to explaining the lacklustre visual style which isn’t quite rough enough ...