Ricky Gervais’ Animated Series About Feral Cats Lands on Netflix

While the American iteration of The Office enjoyed renewed attention this September with the Peacock premiere of the spinoff The Paper, Ricky Gervais—the mind behind the original British mockumentary—has pivoted to a very different comedic form. Gervais will direct and headline Alley Cats, an adult animated sitcom chronicling the idle lives of feral British cats, set to arrive on Netflix in 2026.

“I play a fat, lazy, rude, opinionated creature with fangs, who’s not as smart or brave as he thinks he is,” Gervais said in a statement—adding that the role is, amusingly, a stretch for him.

The show is designed for quick, bingeable viewing: six episodes, each roughly 15 minutes. Alley Cats tracks a ragtag pack of slacker felines from varied backgrounds as they loiter, spar, and trade blunt observations about the world. The voice cast includes longtime Gervais collaborator David Earl (Derek, After Life), along with Tom Basden (The Ballad of Wallis Island) and Andrew Brooke (PhoneShop). Blink Industries, the UK studio behind titles like Dead End: Paranormal Park and Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared, will produce the 2D animation.

Adult animation has been a reliable battleground for Netflix for several years, and the streamer continues to expand its slate. This summer it premiered Raphael Bob-Waksberg’s new series Long Story Short, and it will roll out the horror-comedy Haunted Hotel on Sept. 19, from writer Matt Roller of Rick and Morty fame.

There also seems to be a growing subgenre of mature, animal-centered animation on the platform. In August, Netflix released Genndy Tartakovsky’s R-rated canine romp Fixed, and it has been developing Mating Season, a raunchy series about amorous forest creatures from members of the Big Mouth creative team.

Source: Polygon