Netflix announce record-breaking new Ricky Gervais comedy special

That £7.99 you pay for Netflix every month is going to buy Ricky Gervais a bunch of really nice houses.

The comic has not one but two stand-up specials on the way from the streaming giant, and both involved undisclosed but colossal amounts of dosh changing hands. The first one, Humanity, involved the biggest fee Netflix has ever paid for a UK stand-up show, and the as-yet-nonexistent follow-up was sold for the same massive sum.

Gervais is currently on tour with Humanity, but the Netflix version, which lands on the platform on 13 March, was filmed last year during his three-week residency at the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith. His first stand-up show in seven years was also hailed as his best, with glowing reviews all round, although there was some controversy surrounding his material on transgender people and ‘deadnaming’.

No date is set for the follow-up, but it’s likely to be a while off - Humanity was first announced in 2013. 

“I can’t wait for Humanity to air so I can start all over again on a brand new show,” Gervais has said. “Stand-up is my new favourite passion now, so it’s an absolute thrill to tour hundreds of wonderful cities and then be able to have it stream on the greatest platform in the world.”

(Image: Netflix)