Ricky Gervais’s animated Alley Cats: Netflix release date, voice cast and plot explained
We’ve got the essentials on Alley Cats—who’s in it, what it’s about, and when it lands.
Stray, scrappy, and holed up together in a single room after being left behind, a crew of streetwise cats takes center stage in Alley Cats — a new animated comedy that Ricky Gervais didn’t just dream up, he wrote, directed, and stars in. The story kicks off when this foul-mouthed makeshift family stumbles on a lost kitten and decides to get her home, turning a grubby little rescue mission into a jagged buddy adventure about survival and found family.
The six-episode series keeps the claws out — expect sharp one-liners, unapologetically rude banter, and plenty of heart underneath the fur. Along the way, the show digs into themes you don’t usually see in cartoons about pets: friendship under pressure, poverty, loss, and what it means to look out for one another when no one else will.
Who voices the cats
- Ricky Gervais — Gus (also creator, writer, director; The Office, Extras, After Life)
- Tom Basden — Ponce (Plebs; After Life)
- Andrew Brooke — Fang (Sherlock Holmes films; After Life)
- David Earl — Puke (After Life, Extras; Brian and Charles; Derek)
- Diane Morgan — Olive (Philomena Cunk on Charlie Brooker’s Weekly Wipe; After Life)
- Jo Hartley — Kitten (After Life; This Is England)
- Kerry Godliman — Kara (After Life)
- Natalie Cassidy — role TBA
- Tony Way — role TBA
It’s a familiar Gervais repertory company, with several After Life alums back on the mic, now trading deadpan office chatter for alleyway scheming and side-eye.
When and where to watch
All episodes of Alley Cats land on Netflix on August 7, 2026 . The season runs six chapters, each under 20 minutes, and the whole thing drops at once for a quick, gritty binge.
All six episodes stream August 7, 2026 on Netflix, each running under 20 minutes.