The Office left David Brent in an optimistic place when it signed off in 2003 with the Christmas special.  He had a promising date, stuck up for himself with Finchy, and made the office staff laugh.  Ricky Gervais brought back the character for a ten-minute special for Comic Relief on Friday, and as suits Gervais’ M.O., all hope is gone and Brent is lonelier than ever.

Brent sells cleaning products now, but is still pursuing his true passion, music.  He is excited about his new protege, rapper Dom Johnson, and especially proud to have a black “friend.”  Dom says the partnership clicked when Brent agreed to “support my studio time financially,” but Brent still manages to rope him into filming a black-and-white music video for his painful political reggae song “Equality Street.”  The special is ultimately sad, extremely uncomfortable, and yes, pretty funny.  Watch it after the jump.

British comedian Ricky Gervais is reviving his most famous creation, David Brent from The Office (U.K.).  According to the teaser trailer “Brent’s Back,” we find Brent these ten years later seeming to be doing just fine, and attempting to get back into music (who could forget his earlier forays, from “Free Love Freeway” to “If You Don’t Know Me By Now”?)

The segment will air on BBC One on Red Nose Day (a British fundraiser mega-event that gets some of the country’s biggest names to help raise money for charity) March 15th, and will also be available on Gervais’ YouTube channel that same day.  Hit the jump for more on this mini episode and for a teaser clip.

Of all the things Ricky Gervais enjoys doing — acting, directing, writing, taking pictures of himself in the bathtub – annoying his friend Karl Pilkington has got to take top billing.  The first two seasons of An Idiot Abroad were based solely on this idea: sending Karl out into a world that he wants nothing to do with (left to his own desires, he would never have even left Manchester for London).

While most people would salivate at the opportunity to go to the places Ricky sent Karl (though maybe not in the style he went in), Karl has never had any interest in the Seven Wonders or traveling “anywhere you have to get a vaccination to visit.” His unique perspective though, and very real displeasure at some of the things he was asked to do, resonated both emotionally and with humor for viewers.  It’s what Ricky discovered over ten years ago on their London radio show when Karl was just an unknown producer, and has continued to successfully bring to audiences in different mediums (books, podcasts, TV shows).  But has the joke run its course?  Hit the jump for my take on how this third season of the travel series panned out, with its new addition of Warwick Davis.

Fans of HBO’s comedy series Life’s Too Short will be happy to know that they’ll be getting some closure on the Warwick Davis-led show.  The HBO/BBC comedy premiered on HBO last February with a seven episode first season, but executive producers/stars Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant have opted to wrap the show up with a special in lieu of commissioning a full second season.  HBO announced at the TCA’s that they have indeed committed to a Life’s Too Short special that will wrap the series up, set to air later this year.  I watched the first couple of episodes of Life’s Too Short, and despite the amusing cameos I was never quite taken with the series.  That said, I’m sure there are plenty of fans that are happy to hear that the show will be given some finality.

Merchant is currently working on a new comedy series for HBO called Hello Ladies, while Gervais recently landed the lead role in The Muppets sequel.  Hit the jump to watch one of the highlights from Life’s Too Short, Johnny Depp’s cameo.

Well here’s something unexpected. Jason Segel long ago revealed that he wouldn’t be returning for the sequel to 2011’s The Muppets, so it was assumed that Disney would be casting someone else to be the film’s “human lead” opposite the titular Muppets.  Ty Burrell was recently cast as the Europe-set film’s antagonist, a lazy Interpol inspector, but Heat Vision now reports that funnyman Ricky Gervais has been cast as the human lead in The Muppets 2.

Details on the role are being kept under wraps, but I can’t imagine it having much similarity to the character played by Segel; Gervais isn’t exactly known for being the sweet, sentimental type.  Nicholas Stoller co-wrote the script with James Bobin, who returns to direct.  Production is set to begin in January in London, so expect a slew of casting/cameo news in the coming months.  The untitled sequel to The Muppets is set for release on December 20, 2013.

An Idiot Abroad is a BBC travel series dedicated to the seven wonders of the world and the culture that surrounds them.  It isn’t a new idea.  Dozens of shows have tackled the exact same subject using a combination of stunning photography and a charismatic, informative host which can create a rich, in-depth look at some truly remarkable feats of architecture and ingenuity.  But Idiot Abroad offers something that none of those other documentary series has: a host who has no curiosity or interest in the subjects he is sent to cover.  Karl Pilkington is the host (or presenter) of Idiot Abroad and is either an Andy Kaufman-esque performance artist or, more likely, a man with unbelievably simple tastes.  Either way, his interactions and observations make this travel series extremely entertaining.  Hit the jump for our review of An Idiot Abroad on DVD.

After finding success with The Office in the UK, not to mention the US adaptation on NBC, writer, director and star Ricky Gervais returns to the mockumentary subgenre with his longtime friend and writing partner Stephen Merchant. However, this time the two British funnymen bring a new face into the comedic world as Life’s Too Short follows an exaggerated version of dwarf actor Warwick Davis, still clinging to his fame from starring in films like Return of the Jedi, Willow and the Harry Potter franchise and struggling to keep his life together as an agent for other dwarf actors and a smug star who might be too big for his britches. For my take on HBO’s new series hit the jump.

The Golden Globes are a bit of a silly ceremony and that’s part of what makes them so fun.  They used to have a modicum of influence over the Oscar nominations, but then deadlines were changed and now it’s just a fluffy ceremony where celebrities eat, drink, be merry, and receive recognition for performances and programs that will never be touched by the Emmys and the Oscars.  There’s some freedom to that and so we can cheer when The Hangover wins Best Comedy/Musical or Johnny Depp wins Best Actor for Sweeney Todd by virtue of being Johnny Depp.   And all of tonight will be made better by having Ricky Gervais as our host.

Click here for a list of the nominees and hit the jump for my on-going live-blog and be sure to keep refreshing the page for my comments.  You can also follow me on Twitter for more Globes commentary.  The 2011 Golden Globe Awards air at 8pm (EST) on NBC.

With the midseason premieres of several new and returning series just around the corner on network television, cable has plenty of new stuff in store as well. Deadline reports HBO has just brought their midseason premiere schedule to the table with the return of the third (and possible final) season of Danny McBride in Eastbound & Down returning on February 19th at 10/9c. Then following immediately after on the same night at 10:30/9:30c Ricky Gervais brings yet another one of his British successes to the cable network with Life’s Too Short. But before all that, the new drama series Luck, starring Dustin Hoffman, will debut on January 29th. However, the series will actually have a sneak preview after the season finale of Boardwalk Empire on December 11th as well. After the jump you can check out the trailers for all three series.

It seems like when influential TV shows are discussed, anything past the 1980’s is left off the list. Things peter out around All in the Family and come to a stop right around Seinfeld. That’s nearly two decades worth of shows left out of the conversation. One of these shows recently released a 10th anniversary edition. The Office may only have two short English seasons and a 2-part Christmas special under it’s belt, but its influence has been felt in modern television for a decade. Our review is after the jump.

The first time Ricky Gervais (The Office) hosted the Golden Globe Awards in 2010, he was the first British host in 14 years. The last time Gervais hosted, he took on a hailstorm of criticism (mostly from the celebrities he razzed in hilarious fashion). Now that the comedian is slated to host the Globes in 2012, there’s no way to know what we can expect…unless we ask the man himself.

In a recent blog post, Gervais talked about the decision to come back as a host “for a third and definitely final time” and what made him decide to agree. The comedian is currently at work on his performance for the Globes, saying, “Started writing gags for that today by the way. I should apologise to everyone now; but I won’t apologise after so what’s the point? Much more from Gervais after the jump.

Because there hasn’t been enough talk about awards show hosts and controversies lately, it now looks like Ricky Gervais will be returning as the host of the Golden Globes. As you probably remember, Gervais hosted the ceremony last year and came under fire for being too much like Ricky Gervais. Personally, I didn’t even think Gervais was that “controversial”, but more than a few celebrities in attendance apparently took offense and the Office actor has been talking about it ever since. Showblitz reports that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has voted to have the comedian return.

Gervais revealed this past February that organizers had asked him to consider returning, but the HFPA responding with a resounding “false”. It looks as though they either changed their mind or were so embarrassed by Gervais’ outing of their proposition that they decided to lie. An official deal isn’t yet in place, but both parties are in agreement and Gervais is poised to host what’s sure to be an interesting ceremony come January.

Last month, we showed you a clip from Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant‘s new TV series Life’s Too Short starring Warwick Davis (Harry Potter).  The clip had Johnny Depp lampooning himself by going after Gervais’ hosting of the Golden Globes.  It was pretty funny and it was good to know that someone was looking out for Tim Allen.  This new clip absolutely blows it away.  In the latest clip, Liam Neeson comes in to talk with Gervais and Merchant about expanding into comedy.  Neeson, Gervais, and Merchant use Neeson’s dramatic gravitas to brilliant effect and show that improv, Oscar-nominees, and contracting AIDS from an African prostitute is an odd but hilarious mixture.

Hit the jump to check out the clip.  Life’s Too Short began airing yesterday on BBC Two and will air in the US on HBO next year.

Back in March we learned that the British comedy series Life’s Too Short from Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the creators of the UK version of The Office, would feature some great guest stars like Jerry Seinfeld and Johnny Depp alongside series star Warwick Davis (best known for playing Wicket the Ewok and Professor Flitwick in the Harry Potter franchise). The series won’t hit HBO until sometime next year (though it will air across the pond before then), but now we have an absolutely hilarious clip of Johnny Depp meeting Ricky Gervais and absolutely tearing him a new one about his jokes during his hosting stint at the Golden Globe awards. Of course, it’s all in good fun as Depp has his fedora handed to him a couple times as well. And if there’s one thing you’ll learn from this clip, is that Depp is quite a big fan of a certain 90′s sitcom star. See the clip from Life’s Too Short after the jump.

Since his programs like Extras and The Ricky Gervais Show have found a happy home at HBO, it’s no surprise to learn from Deadline that the cable network will also air Life’s Too Short, the new comedy series from Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. We first heard about the project back in April of last year which has Warwick Davis playing a fictionalized version of himself as a down and out little person actor trying to hustle and connive his way back into the spotlight. We’ve already heard about guest stars such as Johnny Depp and Jerry Seinfeld , and it sounds like Sting and Steve Carell will also make appearances along with Gervais and Merchant playing themselves in small roles too. The series will first air on BBC Two later this year and will hit HBO sometime in 2012, but you can check out the first trailer for the new series after the jump.