Ricky Gervais has successfully combined his passion for both cats and swearing in his upcoming Netflix animated series.
In the first trailer for Alley Cats, scheduled to be released on August 7th and pre-screened at Annecy, a group of stray cats discuss a wide range of thought-provoking topics, including how they want to die (“by hand,” they declare), their plan to team up to take on an overweight kid (“Let’s put a fat Wagyu baby in a bag!”), and what they did the night before (“I fucked a rat”).
If there’s one thing that’s clear from the trailer, it’s that “Alley Cats” is a few four-legged, decidedly unfamily-friendly leaps from the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon “Top Cat.”
Described as a “lazy sitcom,” the six-part series follows the trials and tribulations of a group of British cats from all walks of life as they ruminate on their daily lives and seek companionship, and the voice cast includes many of Gervais’ longtime collaborators. In addition to Gervais himself (voicing the voice of “a fat, lazy, rude, opinionated creature with fangs”), the cast includes Tom Basden, Andrew Brooke, David Earle, Kerry Godliman, Joe Hartley, Diane Morgan, and Natalie Cassidy and Tony Way.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited about a trailer. I can’t wait for everyone to get to know these cats,” said Gervais, who will be in Annecy to discuss the series and show exclusive world footage of the first two episodes.
“Alley Cats” will be co-directed by Elliot Dear and animated by award-winning UK-based studio Blink Industries (“Dead End: Paranormal Park,” “Don’t Hug Me Scary”). Gervais Executive is producing for Derek Productions along with Shushu Creative’s Stephen Hamilton Shaw (Nomeo & Juliet). Blink’s Hugo Donkin will produce, with Tang Heng (Kung Fu Panda 1, 2) serving as production designer.
Aside from stand-up comedy, “Alley Cats” marks Gervais’ first return to television as a creator since “Afterlife,” which aired for three seasons on Netflix from 2019 to 2022.
Watch the trailer for “Alley Cats” below.
