This first season shows the typical handwriting of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. You've got loads of awkward social situations, a protagonist that slowly but surely drifts toward self destruction and famous people popping in once in a while. Honestly it's "Extras" all over again, just with a different flavor.
What surprised me is the speed at which the series looses ideas. While the first two episodes are hilarious (thanks to another great performance by Johnny Depp), later ones loose themselves in the monotony of repetition: Same jokes, same ideas, same plot twists. Worse is that the celebrity actors don't keep their quality. While Liam Neeson, Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter satire the public view of their persons pretty hilariously, Cat Deeley only puts a visual highlight on her episode and Sting just plays Sting, which honestly works better in a Guy Ritchy movie.
If you liked everything about "Extras", you still might be a bit disappointed by the slight quality drop in direct comparison. It's still worth a watch though. I personally still have a hard time sympathizing with the prevailing idea in Gervais' stories of the arrogant and ignorant protagonist that ruins his life the fullest. It just makes watching the whole thing quite painful once in a while.
What surprised me is the speed at which the series looses ideas. While the first two episodes are hilarious (thanks to another great performance by Johnny Depp), later ones loose themselves in the monotony of repetition: Same jokes, same ideas, same plot twists. Worse is that the celebrity actors don't keep their quality. While Liam Neeson, Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter satire the public view of their persons pretty hilariously, Cat Deeley only puts a visual highlight on her episode and Sting just plays Sting, which honestly works better in a Guy Ritchy movie.
If you liked everything about "Extras", you still might be a bit disappointed by the slight quality drop in direct comparison. It's still worth a watch though. I personally still have a hard time sympathizing with the prevailing idea in Gervais' stories of the arrogant and ignorant protagonist that ruins his life the fullest. It just makes watching the whole thing quite painful once in a while.