After Life – Picture: Netflix
The final season for the Ricky Gervais Netflix series After Life began filming in April 2021 and has since wrapped. Here’s an updated guide of everything you need to know about After Life season 3 including its release status, new cast, production updates, first look and more.
After Life, in case you didn’t know, is a Netflix Original comedy series that features Ricky Gervais (and plenty of familiar faces if you follow his previous work such as The Office, Derek, or Extras) who plays the role of Tony. Tony has suffered an enormous loss with the passing of his wife and is left behind trying to pick up the pieces and find a new purpose.
Season 2 arrived on Netflix globally on April 24th, 2020 with the first season arriving back in March 2019.
Before we dig into everything you need to know about season 3, here’s the first look trailer released by Ricky Gervais on November 9th, 2021.
When was After Life renewed for season 3?
Thankfully, we didn’t have to wait too long until Netflix pulled the trigger on the third season. On May 6th, 2020 Netflix UK put up a succinctly put Tweet that confirmed the good news:
NEWS: After Life will return for season 3.
— Netflix UK & Ireland (@NetflixUK) May 6, 2020
Ricky Gervais followed up with a Tweet of his own saying:
“Because so many of you watched #AfterLife2 so quickly and made it Number 1 again, the nice people at Netflix have suggested that I get off my fat arse and do another season.
This is all your fault.”
From the offset, the chances of After Life getting renewed in some capacity were high as we made the case for below.
Was the series a hit? We’ve never gotten any official numbers from Netflix but Gervais said more watched season 2 than season 1 (within a time period after releasing).
In addition, Ricky Gervais is currently part-way through his multi-year first-look deal with Netflix. The deal was struck back in July 2019. The deal has seen the release of After Life as well as Humanity and there are at least 2 new projects to come after After Life season 3 too.
When the deal was initially announced, Ricky did joke about the third season or, as he opted with some of his previous shows, a one-off special. He said: “I do – unless I can get some of the cast to help me write the third series and just sit back and just turn up,”.
Where is After Life season 3 in production?
Current production status: Early production/writing – production due to begin in April 2021 (Last updated: 07/27/2020)
Soon after the announcement of season 3, Ricky Gervais started putting pen to paper.
The latest update we got was on July 23rd, 2020 when on a live stream (and subsequent Tweet – see below) we got a first look at the draft for episode one of season 3.
As you know, all filming is currently postponed around the world. After Life films in the United Kingdom which is set to allow productions to get underway again in July 2020 according to this report from The Guardian.
In August 2020, we got word via ProductionIntelligence that After Life season 3 was currently due to begin filming in April 2021.
That’s still the case as of March 2021 with filming set to take “7 weeks” according to that production listing.
In April 2021, Ricky Gervais confirmed that filming was due to start on Monday, April 19th.
Filming took place throughout the Spring and into the summer with filming wrapping on June 4th after 35 days of filming.
On November 8th, the cast and crew had a private screening of After Life season 3 as confirmed by Michelle Greenidge.
Monday Night was #AfterLife3 Night.
Over The Moon to have been a part of this phenomenal show from the beginning & I swear down!
This is truly the best series yet.
Rib-achingly funny & cheek-wettingly emotional.
Just Brilliant!
Massive congrats to the mighty @rickygervais pic.twitter.com/sGebC0XMrt
— Michelle Greenidge (@miche_greenidge) November 9, 2021
So when will After Life season 3 release on Netflix? That’s still to be confirmed with the teaser posted by Gervais only saying coming soon. With that said, it’s likely in the final stages of being ready and we’re predicting anywhere between December 2021 and April 2022 for it to come to Netflix globally.
Why is After Life season 3 the final season?
Ricky Gervais has often ended his shows after two or three seasons and After Life will be following a similar path.
The Mirror reports that Ricky Gervais has confirmed that season four won’t be returning.
Gervais said:
“I’ve already made my mind up there won’t be a four.
“And you do put those things out there to make you remember as it’s tempting but… there’s an old saying that ‘to lead the orchestra, you’ve got to turn your back on the audience’.
“That’s true. The audience think they want another one, but they’re not sure. So you’ve got to be carefu
What to expect from After Life season 3
Let’s quickly run through the final events of season 2. During the town’s talent show where Tony seems to be recovering from his loss day by day, but he faces a further setback by the end of season 2. His father, played by David Bradley, passes away from dementia in the nursing home. We suspect a formal funeral to take place at some point in season 3.
Matt marriage seems to have been patched up throughout the course of season 2 but whether that’ll be long-lasting could be explored going forwards.
After Life – Picture: Netflix
The major overarching plot for a third season would be the continuation and hopefully, the salvation of the local newspaper. Tony promised Sandy that the paper would continue and Tony seemed to have got a kick out of having a new purpose in life.
We’ll also see how Tony copes with this loss of his Dad plus how the relationship blossoms (or burnout as the case may be) with Emma who finally got her name revealed in season 2.
Of course, when it comes to the cast, much of that is speculation at this time. We’d expect to see continued flashbacks via Tony’s laptop and new characters introduced.
What to watch after After Life season 2
If you love Ricky Gervais, there are a few titles you can check out starring the comedian. Some of his earlier comedy series whether that be The Office or Extras can still be found on Netflix in some regions.
More recently, Ricky Gervais has featured in The Willoughbys plus Derek serves as a Netflix Original in many regions too.
If you’re looking for heartfelt dramas with elements of comedy, Virgin River, The Kominsky Method, and Grace & Frankie are all good picks.
Netflix themselves also recommends Gentefied, The Ranch, Dead to Me, and Atypical.
Now let us know what you think. Are you looking forward to watching After Life season 3 on Netflix? Let us know in the comments down below.