The Ricky Gervais Show Renewed by HBO
HBO has given the greenlight for a third season of The Ricky Gervais Show, the animated series based on the podcast and audiobooks of the same name (the podcast itself has roots in a 2001 radio show). The show, which features Gervais, Stephen Merchant, and Karl Pilkington trading stories and cutting up for 22-25 minutes a week, will be airing its second season finale on Friday, April 15th at 9:00 with the third season likely to air in early 2012.
Have you guys enjoyed season two of the show? Do you think HBO will/should air the third seasons of Ricky and The Life and Times of Tim together? What are some of your favorite moments from the show?
Check out the press release below for credits, records the show has set, and the critical raves it has received from various media members:
HBO RENEWS ANIMATED COMEDY SERIES "THE RICKY GERVAIS SHOW" FOR THIRD SEASON
Series Is Based On Record-Setting Podcast
NEW YORK, April 8, 2011 - HBO has renewed the animated comedy series THE RICKY GERVAIS SHOW, based on the record-breaking podcast, for a third season. The voices on the show are recorded by Ricky Gervais, his longtime collaborator, Stephen Merchant, and Gervais' colleague and friend, Karl Pilkington, whose offbeat musings inspire many of the storylines.
Currently presenting new episodes Friday nights (9:00-9:30 p.m. ET/PT), with the second-season finale scheduled to debut April 15, THE RICKY GERVAIS SHOW has inspired critical praise, with the New York Times saying the series is "proof that big laughs can come in small doses," while the New York Post described the show as "crazy fun," and the Houston Chronicle observed that the show's "pointless conversations will keep you in stitches."
On March 19, the podcast on which THE RICKY GERVAIS SHOW is based reportedly passed the 300 million download mark. The podcast held the record for most downloaded podcast in the 2005 edition of the "Guinness Book Of Records," when the total per episode was in the hundreds of thousands, and holds the record for most-downloaded podcast or audiobook today.
Season two credits: THE RICKY GERVAIS SHOW is produced for HBO Entertainment by Media Rights Capital in association with Wildbrain Entertainment; executive producers, Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, Karl Pilkington, Glyn Hughes, Bob Higgins, Lisa Ullmann and Steve Patrick; supervising producer, Margaret M. Dean; producer, Michelle Wilson; director Dan Fraga.
