Extras (2005)

Incisive, fearless and laugh-out-loud funny, "Extras" will appeal to anyone who liked "The Larry Sanders Show" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

The most original and brilliant show on television.

'Extras" is far less terminally existential than ''The Office," less depressing to watch.

A worthy and exhilarating new HBO companion to "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

The writers have shown that letting the characters drive the story can make a form as tired as the sitcom new again.

Even if Extras never accedes to The Office's heights of comic sublimity, it's still a rare find on American TV: a series that combines the ascendant genre of cringe comedy with Gervais' rich comic gifts, and his trademark humanism.

If you loved "The Office" you may have grave doubts that any followup comedy could be as good and as quote-the-dialogue funny. "Extras" is that - another triumph, and a perfect Sunday-night companion piece for "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

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.

At once more modest and more ambitious than its predecessor; more focused on detail and yet more expansive. It is also excruciatingly funny, with an emphasis on excruciating.

Excellent writing, amazing actors. Classic British sit-com with vertical storylines per episodes for the first season, very very very funny. Second season has a deeper "dramedy" vibe, with a broader horizontal arc for the protagonists and a bittersweet final

Extras is a really good show that has superb writing about what it truly means to be a celebrity.