Critic Reviews
| 100 |
New York Daily News David Hinckley
As with the Gervais-Merchant "The Office," the more time you spend with the characters in "Extras," the more you feel their pain as well as laugh at their expense. |
| 100 |
Slant Magazine Brian Holcomb
The writers have shown that letting the characters drive the story can make a form as tired as the sitcom new again. |
| 90 |
Salon Heather Havrilesky
Gervais' timing remains impeccable, and Ashley Jensen is wonderful as his shallow, lazy friend Maggie. |
| 90 |
Newark Star-Ledger Alan Sepinwall
"Extras" finally achieves the greatness expected of the Gervais/Merchant team with Season Two. |
| 90 |
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Melanie McFarland
Few stars can write and play a kicked-in-the-mouth underdog as smartly as Gervais does here. |
| 90 |
Variety Brian Lowry
Despite mining what appears to be a played-out lode (yet another showbiz-insider comedy, complete with self-effacing celebrity cameos), the pair find hearty laughs in discomfort, elicit riotous turns from their guest stars and even manage a touch of pathos in the travails of the show's hapless hero. |
| 90 |
Washington Post Tom Shales
"Extras" lives up to expectations and to its own lunatic traditions. |
| 90 |
Wall Street Journal Nancy DeWolf Smith
It is even more excruciating -- which in this case means better -- than last year's. |
| 88 |
People Weekly Tom Gliatto
Andy's humiliations as a minor celebrity aren't quite as funny as was his earlier shame at being a nobody, but as a satire of showbiz vanity, Extras can still be described as (what else?) stellar. [29 Jan 2007, p.43] |
| 80 |
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Rob Owen
There's no question that "Extras" is a hoot, especially for anyone who spends much time observing the ins and outs of fame and the media, but Gervais is correct that less is more. |
| 80 |
Boston Globe Matthew Gilbert
[It] passes quickly but gleefully. |
| 80 |
Chicago Tribune Maureen Ryan
[Season 2] is far better than the good but uneven first year of the show. |
| 60 |
Hollywood Reporter Ray Bennett
There's more humiliation than comedy. |
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