Supernature
Netflix · 2022 · 64 min
Ricky Gervais mockingly defends offensive comedy at the London Palladium.
Gervais sets up his defense of offensive humor by explaining the concept of irony to his audience, but the performance itself quickly pivots to modern culture wars. He adopts his familiar onstage persona as a wealthy contrarian nursing a glass of wine, chuckling at his own provocations. Rather than dwelling on the natural wonders implied by the title, much of the set leans into taboo territory, most notably a polarizing extended routine on trans identity and gender politics.
Filmed at the London Palladium, the 64-minute set arrived on Netflix in May 2022, shortly after Gervais concluded the third and final season of his dramatic series After Life. The arena tour had been heavily delayed by the pandemic, allowing the comic to sharpen a routine that also touches on his pampered cats, the absurdity of religious superstition, and his self-deprecating views on aging.
The performance generated immediate controversy. While long-time fans welcomed his uncompromising approach, the special drew heavy criticism from LGBTQ advocacy organizations and media watchdogs, who criticized the material as harmful. Several reviewers noted that the performance felt less like a subversion of societal rules and more like a series of predictable grievances tailored for online debate.
The set list
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Explaining the rules of comedy and irony
Argues that a comedian saying something offensive is using irony and does not sincerely mean it.
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Failing to name funny female comedians
Feigns trying to name female comics to prove women are funny but names Dame Edna and Eddie Izzard instead.
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Punching down at a disabled toddler
Jokes that sometimes you have to punch down, such as if you are beating up a disabled toddler, noting no one actually got hurt.
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Why cats have barbed penises
Compares cats and dogs, highlighting feline anatomy as an example of real nature.
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Act-out of transitioning into a woman
Extended routine imagining what it would be like to transition, focusing on male genitalia and bathroom usage.
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California reincarnation society
Mocks reincarnation proponents whose 'come as you were' party had two Napoleons.
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Being in the 1 percent makes him a minority
Jokes that as a white heterosexual multimillionaire, his wealth places him in a much smaller minority than sexual or racial groups.
How it plays
- Tone
- Irreverent, pitch-black, provocative, smug, and defiant.
- On stage
- Irreverent, provocative, self-described white heterosexual multimillionaire who peddles irony and relishes offensive jokes and audience reaction.
- Pace
- Laughs incessantly at his own jokes, struggles through bits while chuckling, and pauses to dissect and explain his comedic mechanics to the audience.
- About
- rules of comedy and irony, debunking the supernatural and praising nature, transgender people and identity politics, cancel culture, wealth, cats and dogs
What the critics said
Received largely negative to mixed reviews from critics, who found the material hackneyed, lazy, repetitive, and overly reliant on progressive-baiting, anti-trans tropes, and self-defensive explanations of irony, though noted his core audience enthusiastically lapped it up.
In the room: Enthusiastic and vociferously receptive crowd that lapped up the deliberately offensive material.
Backstory
Released amid ongoing debates over 'cancel culture', political correctness, and comedy about marginalized groups, particularly trans identity following controversies surrounding Dave Chappelle's specials.
Details
- Released
- Runtime
- 64 min
- Where
- Netflix
- Director
- John L. Spencer
- Topics
- Before
- Humanity (2018)
- After
- Armageddon (2023)
More from Ricky Gervais
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Mortality
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-
Armageddon
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-
Humanity
Netflix
-
Out of England 2
HBO
-
Out of England
HBO
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