Gervais plans new sitcom
TV spin-off from next film
Ricky Gervais is planning a TV spin-off from his next movie, The Man From The Pru.He is just finished writing the script about a insurance agent in Seventies suburbia with Stephen Merchant, and even though shooting is unlikely to start until May, he already has his eyes on a follow-up.
‘We're thinking of doing a TV spinoff,’ Gervais told movie website rottentomatoes.com. ‘We're doing it the M*A*S*H way round.
‘I think it's a much better way around than doing a TV show and trying to turn it into a film. This way around gives it a bit more gravitas, I think.
‘The film would be The Man From The Pru, but then the show could be The Men From The Pru. It could be a prequel… [or] we might make it slightly more sitcom and less epic. We're going to think of it as we go along, really.’
He and Merchant originally conceived the Man From The Pru as a TV series to follow The Office, but eventually plumped for Extras instead.
He has recently mooted the idea of another Christmas special of Extras, based around Andy Millman going to Hollywood, possibly for a remake of his sitcom When The Whistle Blows.
Published: 4 Nov 2008
