Ricky Gervais is in talks with Netflix about making an ‘After Life’ Christmas special.
The streaming giant’s bosses are said to be keen for the 58-year-old actor – who created the comedy-drama series, which he also writes, directs, and stars in – to pen a festive episode following a successful second series.
A TV source said: "Ricky is a huge asset to Netflix as everything he writes essentially turns to gold.
"There is such a huge appetite for After Life and it’s got a massive fan base.
"The third series won’t air until 2021 so there is a meeting in the diary to see if Ricky could create the Christmas special."
Ricky is said to have been asked to meet Netflix bosses this month, to discuss the potential of a Christmas special.
The source added to The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre TV column: "It would just be a stand-alone episode, possibly one hour if Ricky thinks it would work."
Last month, Ricky revealed Netflix had asked him to make a third series after the second season was well received.
He tweeted: "Because so many of you watched #AfterLife2 so quickly and made it Number 1 again, the nice people at @Netflix have suggested that I get off my fat a**e and do another season. This is all your fault. (sic)"
And it was reported the comedian had been offered £5 million for a third series.
A source said at the time: "’After Life’ smashed expectations again with the second series and Netflix wanted to tie Ricky down with a big money deal.
"They basically approached him with a blank cheque and after bashing out the finer details he will receive just over £5million for the third ‘After Life’. As part of the wider deal Ricky will also pen a couple of comedy shows and skits for Netflix.
"Ricky has a meeting pencilled in next month. They are hoping to have the third series of ‘After Life’ ready to air by Spring 2021 but with the current lockdown situation it’s hard to pin point exact dates at this time."