In news you probably weren’t expecting to hear, Ricky Gervais has signed on for his first recurring role in a TV series that he isn’t involved in as a creator, writer or producer since one of his earliest roles in British satire The 11 O’Clock Show after boarding an eight-episode German show based on one of his tweets.
As per Deadline, WarnerMedia Germany has confirmed that the acerbic Golden Globes host has boarded Greenlight – German Genius, which is now shooting in Berlin. The project stars Kida Khodr Ramadan as himself, and spins a dramatized retelling of a Twitter exchange he had with Gervais back in 2018, which saw the up-and-comer widely praised for his performance in crime drama 4 Blocks.
In Greenlight, Ramadan urges Gervais to hand over the rights for a German adaptation of his hit comedy Extras, but as the remake gears up to enter production, he comes up against a significant stumbling block when he realizes that his countrymen aren’t particularly well-known or highly regarded for their sense of humor.
So far, Gervais is the only international name announced for the ensemble among a veritable sea of local actors, musicians and comedians, and the whole thing sounds so bizarre that Greenlight- German Genius could drum up plenty of curious buzz the closer it gets to release.
