‘Extras’ Special: New Gervais Comedy Premieres Big
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) Nobody’s saying it’s better than “The Office,” but the early results for Ricky Gervais’ “Extras” seem positive. The comedy, which has earned strong reviews from the British press and positive buzz from American critics, had a rousing premiere last Thursday (July 21) night.
According to the British media, “Extras” drew some 4.6 million viewers to BBC2 on Thursday night. The comedy, which features Gervais as a frustrated actor working as a film extra, was the most watched program on British TV for its 9 p.m. half-hour slot, a somewhat rare occurrence for BBC2.
The opening numbers for “Extras,” which premieres on HBO on Sunday, Sept. 25, were only slightly behind figures for the second season premiere of “The Office” in 2002. In both cases, the Gervais premieres captured a 24 percent audience share.
Gervais had insisted that “Extras” air on BBC2 rather than on the BBC mothership in order to give the show a slow build and prevent immediate mainstream success.
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