Alley Cats Hits 39% on Metacritic, Cleese Defends Gervais — SkimNews
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- Alley Cats landed a 39% Metacritic score after its weekend Netflix debut, with The Telegraph awarding zero stars and The Independent one star, and multiple outlets stretching only to two stars
- John Cleese weighed in on X, writing that "The Ricky Gervaise [sic] CATS animation is quite wonderful," marking a rare high-profile defense of the series
- Ricky Gervais replied to Cleese thanking him, calling the Fawlty Towers creator "the creator of the greatest British sitcom of all time"
- Gervais countered the critical reception by screenshotting Alley Cats' favorable UK chart ranking on Netflix and sharing it on social media over the weekend
- The R-rated animated series follows feral British cats seeking companionship while ruminating on everyday life, and previously drew a strong reception at the Annecy film festival where it debuted first footage
- Alley Cats marks Gervais' return to adult animation 13 years after The Ricky Gervais Show wrapped its run on HBO and Channel 4
Why it matters: The 39% Metacritic score and Cleese's defense crystallize a critic-vs-audience split on a flagship Netflix animated release, handing Gervais a comedy legend's endorsement as he leans on Netflix UK chart data to push back on negative reviews.
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