Parents' Guide to

The Ricky Gervais Show

By Kari Croop, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Animated series is an acquired (and foul-mouthed) taste.

TV HBO Comedy 2012
The Ricky Gervais Show Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

Community Reviews

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age 15+

Based on 2 parent reviews

thescaredshadow
thescaredshadow Adult
August 9, 2015
age 13+

Dying of laughter

This is one of the funniest shows I've ever seen. My favorite bit is when Carl predicts the future.

This title has:

Great role models
ksarkissian
ksarkissian Parent of 9-year-old
March 22, 2010
age 17+

Perfect for adults wanting something a bit more engaging

I absolutely love the "Ricky Gervais Show." It is a breath of fresh aire from all the same old comedies out there and I look forward to every episode. Despite it's apparent sophomoric humor, I find it intelligent and fun. Anyone out there can write silly one-liners and basically dumb sexual teen comedy, but it takes intelligent writers like these to make jokes out of history and thoughtful maters.

This title has:

Too much swearing
Great messages
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Created from edited-down conversations that originally aired on satellite radio and, later, on a series of popular podcasts, THE RICKY GERVAIS SHOW throws co-hosts Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, and Karl Pilkington into a suspended state of animation and captures their musings on a variety of random topics -- from population control to the prowess of chimpanzees. Gervais and Merchant are best known for dreaming up the hit British sitcom The Office, which spawned an Emmy-winning American series of the same name. Pilkington originally worked with Gervais and Merchant as an off-air radio producer before he became an on-air personality.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2):
Kids say (9):

In the first episode of The Ricky Gervais Show, Karl Pilkington is talking about a monkey who single-handedly launched a rocketship when an incredulous Ricky Gervais blurts out, "Karl, you are living in a cartoon world!" And maybe that's why someone thought animating Karl's imagination would make good television -- or at least a good cartoon. The animation style is reminiscent of old Jay Ward shorts of the 1960s (think The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show's "Fractured Fairy Tales"), and it does, at the very least, give the viewer something to look at while Karl rambles on with his stories and misguided theories.

That said, it will take a real fan of these three to truly love this series; anyone else will be mildly perplexed at best. But whatever you make of it, it's not like the narrator at the beginning of each episode (who calmly explains that you're about to see one of a series of "pointless conversations" recorded over the past few years) didn't warn you. Besides, Gervais and Co. already know their show has no real purpose -- or any kind of plot, for that matter. But they still think you might want to see it. So there's that.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the show's format and whether or not it works. For kids or parents who have listened to the original podcasts: Does the series work better as a cartoon, or was it funnier when you only had the audio and had to provide your own visuals? Why do you think Gervais essentially re-released something that already existed, just in a different form?

  • In terms of sexual content and cartoon violence, does the series ever go too far? Do you consider Ricky and Stephen's constant pecking at Karl a milder form of violence? Does it qualify as bullying -- and do you think Karl is in on the joke?

TV Details

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