Gervais penning 'Extras' special

Published: Nov. 19, 2008 at 9:41 AM
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British comedian/actor Ricky Gervais attends the premiere of "Stardust" at Odeon, Leicester Square in London on October 3, 2007.  (UPI Photo/Rune Hellestad)
British comedian/actor Ricky Gervais attends the premiere of "Stardust" at Odeon, Leicester Square in London on October 3, 2007. (UPI Photo/Rune Hellestad) | Enlarge Enlarge
LONDON, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- British comedian and actor Ricky Gervais says he is working on a one-hour special continuing his recently wrapped show-biz series "Extras."

The TV comedy, which Gervais co-created and starred in with Stephen Merchant, ended after two seasons with a Christmas special last year. Gervais and Merchant previously collaborated on the iconic British TV series "The Office."

Gervais said during an appearance on ITV1's "This Morning" that he has written a "rough storyline" for an "Extras" special, the BBC reported.

The writer-actor admitted he "has a lot to beat" since David Bowie, Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Orlando Bloom, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Kate Winslet and Daniel Radcliffe all made guest appearances on the show.

"I've got my sights set on a few people. Al Pacino, I've got a good idea for," Gervais said regarding who he'd like to see play themselves on the special new episode. "I bumped into Danny DeVito and Michael Douglas at the (Joe) Calzaghe fight in New York. I said, 'So, do you want to do 'Extras'? And (DeVito) went 'yeah' and I said, 'That's legally binding.'"

Gervais went on to say he misses "Extras" more than he does "The Office."

"I think it's got more legs than 'The Office,'" he added. "We can go anywhere with it. We never ended it like 'The Office,' it was quite open-ended. We thought it would be good for (my character) Andy to try to make it in Hollywood, because then he's starting again -- and if you think entertainment's cruel over here, it's just a completely different kettle of fish there."


© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.



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