Alley Cats Season 1 Review: An Animated Comedy with Equal Parts Existential Dread and Vulgarity

Ricky Gervais might have broken into Hollywood thanks to his iconic work on the British version of The Office, but he’s always had a sharp edge in his wit. The comedian continues to ruffle feathers with Alley Cats, his new animated series for Netflix, which releases this Friday. Taking a page out of South Park and BoJack Horseman, the comedy series takes on incredibly heavy topics and sprinkles in some of the most absurd jokes you’ll see all year. While the vulgar humor and emotional catharsis create some whiplash, the project is ultimately an impressive effort.

What is Alley Cats about?

While hanging out in their abandoned apartment, Gus (Ricky Gervais), Puke (David Earl), and Fang (Andrew Brooke). Gus assumes the role of the no-cares-given leader of the group, with housed cat Ponce (Tom Basden) joining the gang despite their consistent jokes at his expense. Olive (Diane Morgan) also frequents the same graveyard, although her true reason for hanging out with the tomcats lies with Ponce.

The group dynamic shifts when a young kitten (Jo Hartley) stumbles into the group. Having lost her home, Gus leads the group to look for the kitten’s home. The newfound family work together to look after the cat but run into misadventures on their way through the city. Along the way, Gus is forced to confront his view on the world and relationships in his life.

Ricky Gervais delivers on both heart and humor.

All of Alley Cats runs through Ricky Gervais. He’s not only credited as the writer and star of each episode, but he directs the entire season. In doing so, there’s no line separating what you like or dislike about the show from his vision, and for the most part Alley Cats delivers on what he does best. In films like The Invention of Lying, he was able to capture deeply emotional moments because of his willingness to be vulnerable. Even in animated form, this aspect is central to his storytelling, allowing Gervais to craft one of his best projects in years.

The vulnerability of every character is necessary throughout Alley Cats. While the season only spans a week or two, the events the group lives through are devastating. Friends die, relationships are destroyed, and even the unsavory cats reveal deeply held secrets. Across the six episodes, each coming in under twenty minutes, Gervais finds plenty of material to drive the existential aspects of the Netflix show.

However, with so few episodes, the asides will test the patience of some viewers. The bigger discussions about life, death, dreams, and belonging are often intercut with conversations that would startle Randel from Clerks. While some of these are based on the sheer idiocy of the group, others take on sexual topics that are truly obscene. Alley Cats is juvenile for sure, but the humor works for the most part. More frustratingly, the humor often stops the narratives dead in their tracks. Rather than feeling natural, some of these moments come across as joke sessions that Gervais needed to get out of his system before moving along.

To its benefit, almost all of the jokes are based on the absurdity of cats. There’s a joke about cucumbers, about general cat behavior, and, unsurprisingly, cat drugs. Because the cats also watch a strange amount of television, a device that’s used to open nearly every episode, they also have enough pop culture to slip into the conversations at will. While Alley Cats is not necessarily modeled after Kevin Smith or Workaholics-style productions, the humor gets awfully close to the same place.

The Alley Cats voice cast is also stunningly overqualified. Gervais fits perfectly into the slacker cat mold, using his ability to deliver sharp wit and confrontational humor to its maximum effectiveness. Morgan, best known for her character Philomena Cunk, is brilliantly deployed. While she could easily be overused (given her star), her deliberate dialogue is elevated by her vocals. Finally, the heart of the show lies in Hartley’s performance as the kitten. It will melt your heart and make you believe in goodness, even as the world feels hopeless around her. Alley Cats would struggle to succeed without Hartley.

Is Alley Cats worth watching?

Yes, Alley Cats is worth your time because of the surprising depth that Ricky Gervais finds in the narrative. While existential dread married with some of the raunchiest comedy bits you’ll hear all year might not be the show for everyone, Alley Cats feels destined to become a cult favorite. Gervais continues to prove his value to the streamer, and hopefully attaching his name draws the attention of viewers who might disregard an animated adult comedy about cats.

Alley Cats releases on August 7, 2026 on Netflix. Six episodes were provided for this review.

Alley Cats Season 1 Review: An Animated Comedy with Equal Parts Existential Dread and Vulgarity