Afterlife

In After Life, Ricky Gervais plays Tony, a local newspaper journalist whose wife has died. He decides that having nothing left to lose gives him permission to say whatever he likes. Unfortunately for that argument, there are still people around him who care, and a dog who needs looking after.

The contrast between Tony's grief and the small absurdities of his reporting job gives the comedy its shape. A visit to cover an unremarkable local story can become funny, uncomfortable or unexpectedly kind. Kerry Godliman gives the memories of Tony's wife a warmth that explains his loss more effectively than a speech could.

It can lean heavily on sentiment, and Tony's nastiness is sometimes hard company. But the affection underneath matters. The series is interested in how ordinary routines and other people keep someone attached to life when they can no longer see the point themselves.

It is a much more openly emotional watch than The Office UK. For a broader family drama about living alongside grief, try Six Feet Under.