Not a popular opinion, but I think it is over-rated. It's a lightweight show, nothing more. If that's what you want then give it a go. But if you are looking for intelligent commentary and well-rounded characters then keep searching because this is not it. Boiled down, it is a show featuring some choice insults and wit, but that's all there is and this is just a vehicle for Ricky Gervais to show off his superiority. It quickly becomes too sentimental and saccharine. I couldn't believe the one-dimensional characters - why did his wife put up with him, why did his boss persevere with him in the face of his own marital troubles and a tenuous business, why did his colleagues put up with him, how does a guy working for a community newspaper afford such a fancy house? The main character undergoes a major change of outlook and stops dishing out stinging insults and instead hands out presents like Ebenezer Scrooge. Yet this is the same guy who calmly hands over the money to a junkie who needs the money to procure enough drugs to overdose. There are no repercussions for this action and no real remorse for his actions.