Ricky Gervais and DEXTER Producer Visit AFTERLIFE

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If you were to casually tell me that The Office and Extras creator Ricky Gervais and former Dexter showrunner Clyde Phillips were working on a new show called Afterlife together, I wouldn’t believe you. That’s a match that you wouldn’t think would happen. But Entertainment Weekly says it is happening, and all at once I’m intrigued and scared.

Afterlife poses the question “What if an Atheist died and went to heaven?” At first glance that seems like an interesting question to ask. It would be kind of fun to see someone who never believed in God to have undeniable proof of His existence. But then I start to worry. Religion is such a dangerous topic. There’s a lot you can get wrong if you’re not well versed in a specific religions theology. Case in point; unless just before the Atheist died he/she accepted the existence of God and Jesus Christ then they would most certainly not go to heaven. It’s that sort of thing that could unintentionally offend a lot of people. Of course, this is Ricky Gervais we’re talking about. He loves to offend people. I’m all for religious jokes as long they’re equal opportunity jokes, “no religion is spared!” kind of jokes. This seems specifically targeted at Christians. It would be cool if Gervais and Phillips handled the show with care and did some research, but I’m not holding my breath.

The pilot is currently being written with the hope of shooting it in early 2012. Not surprisingly, Gervais will have a cameo.