Review: After Life season two, Netflix

There is certainly a lot going on in series two. This series overview barely scratches the surface and there are some crucial details we haven't revealed. Does it surpass the first series? I'm not sure. That made such an impact it was always going to be hard to beat. But there is no doubt that this sequel will grab you from the very start and keep you grabbed until the very end.

After Life Series 2 review

Given he's known for brutally direct stand-up, it's little surprise that Ricky Gervais doesn't do subtext.

After Life season 2 review

This series is constantly looking for easy solutions - whether it's not bothering to film 'village' scenes outside of London or using swearing where good jokes ought to be.

After Life, series 2 review

Ricky Gervais's grief-driven comedy is just a rehash of the first series.

Progress 1000: London's most influential people: comedy

The most influential people in London for comedy.

An utterly triumphant second series wraps up with a pair of episodes that see Marcella (Roisin Conaty) zig-zagging between joy, pain and talking to a horse. After a rough night, she swears off drinking and heads off for a few quiet days in the country with a perilously weak phone signal. But will she get a happy ending?

Last time, our frustrated singleton Marcella had to dress up as a monk. This week she is in a TV ad that pays so well she winds up almost too wrecked to attend her creative writing class. Cue a harrowing session with life coach Frances and an invitation to the party from hell. Roisin Conaty: comedy genius.

Roisin Conaty: interview

The actor, stand-up and creator of TV sitcom GameFace on the things that make her laugh the most.

Still reeling from being called "a potato-faced slapper" by Simon's ex-wife Tanya, a bruised Marcella seeks solace in her acting work; trouble is, barring a bit part as a monk, she can't find any. Writer-star Roisin Conaty's scripts get better by the week, with the internal rhythms of her comedy winning our hearts.

A handsome round of applause for the welcome return of GameFace, Roisin Conaty's filthy and intemperate Fleabag for the working class. It begins with excellence: "A flower does not compete with the flower next to it. It just blooms." Marcella (Conaty) is listening to an "inspirational" podcast or some such. "As you begin to express the vision you have of yourself... ", its flibbery nonsense continues, "today is the only day you will ever have. Be grateful, be brave and be excellent." It was all bizarrely reminiscent, for some reason, of Mr Johnson in recent interviews, the only difference being that the average teenager uses this kind of "positivity" filth to be nicer to animals and try to pass their next dauntingly easy exam: Boris is about to pretend it's the answer to running a country.

Anyway, the acting role Marcella's been psyching for is a plague victim in the London Dungeon; a good enough gag, but not as good as Conaty's later suggestion that "if you confess a lie within 24 hours, it can be written off as more of a... 'prank'". I believe that's called a life hack and intend to use it assiduously. Glisteningly written and fun throughout, if not to all tastes, but a splendid starter.