Featured Image Credit: Alamy
Topics: TV and Film, Ricky Gervais, Viral, Netflix
Jake Massey
Topics: TV and Film, Ricky Gervais, Viral, Netflix
*WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS*
The final series of After Life has dropped on Netflix and, predictably, it has left viewers feeling rather emotional.
If you never watched the sitcom, you may wonder why a comedy is making people so weepy, but the show is as touching as it is amusing.
It follows Ricky Gervais as he takes on the role of Tony, a reporter at a free paper struggling to find a purpose in life following the passing of his wife.
Across the course of the first two seasons, viewers have been moved by his battle with grief and attempts to move on from his tragic loss, and fans were eager to see how things would pan out for the protagonist.
Writer, director and star Gervais told LADbible he wanted the ending to be 'real and satisfying, but not perfect', adding that he thought the result was 'beautiful' - and judging by the response on social media, it seems viewers agree.
The final episode in particular is chock-a-block with tear-jerking scenes, from a typically affecting heart-to-heart between widowed graveyard companions Tony and Anne, to a heart-breaking visit to a children's hospital and a closing sequence that is both poignant and hopeful.
This culmination has prompted an emotional outpouring of praise on social media:
Going into the final series, Gervais admitted he toyed with numerous different endings, but is happy that the chosen conclusion is 'pretty perfect'.
He told LADbible: "There were a lot of options, and even right up to filming, there was, 'Can I do this? Is that too much?'.
"I think I went with the right ending - I'm sure I'll have to explain it on social media for the next 10 years.
"But I stand by it and I think it's pretty perfect because, with no spoilers, the theme is - life goes on.
"It's just that, it's just - life goes on."
He continued: "I'd say, again no spoilers, I'd say this is uplifting, this series.
"I think there's more hope. I think it's a positive message. I think it's beautiful. I think it's nice for things to be to be finite, and I think it's uplifting."