Ricky Gervais' new Netflix show just scored 20% on Rotten Tomatoes and critics are not holding back

Ricky Gervais dropped a new Netflix show about foul mouthed alley cats and critics have responded with the TV equivalent of a slow, disappointed head shake.

Alley Cats premiered on Netflix on 7 August and currently sits at a rough 20% on Rotten Tomatoes, built from just five reviews. Only one critic, from The Times UK, landed anywhere near positive, giving it 3 out of 5 and noting it works best when it drops the more juvenile jokes. Everyone else was considerably less kind. Screen Rant gave it 2 out of 10, arguing the real problem isn't offensiveness, it's how familiar every joke feels.

Audiences are kinder, sitting around 50%, which is its own kind of verdict. People will watch six 15 minute episodes of animated cats swearing at each other regardless of what critics think, but "watchable" and "good" are doing very different jobs here.

Variety called it an "enjoyably low-key binge" while also warning it's relentlessly pessimistic at best. That is about as backhanded as a compliment gets. The general critical consensus seems to be that Gervais is repeating a formula he's leaned on for years, and audiences are starting to notice the seams.

This isn't really about cats. It's about a very famous, very wealthy comedian putting out something that reads like it was greenlit off his name alone, with nobody in the room willing to say maybe don't. Six episodes, fifteen minutes each, and reviewers still found it a slog. That takes commitment.

Worth remembering Gervais built a career partly on skewering exactly this kind of lazy industry output. Extras spent a whole season mocking actors who take terrible projects for a paycheck. There's a joke in there somewhere about Alley Cats, and it isn't the one that made it to screen.

If you've already watched it, congratulations on your commitment to the bit. If you haven't, the Rotten Tomatoes score has basically written your review for you.