Ricky Gervais Skips BBC Office Reunion, and Reviews of Louis C.K.’s “Ridiculous”
July 2, 2026
AI Summary
5 min readRicky Gervais has declined to participate in the BBC's official 25th anniversary documentary about The Office, opting instead to produce his own version on YouTube. The news broke via a source speaking to The Sun, who called Gervais's absence "a huge blow" that "taints the BBC's celebration somewhat." A representative for Gervais told The Independent he was simply "not available." Gervais will release his own affectionate retrospective on his YouTube channel on Thursday, July 9th, one day after the BBC's documentary airs on BBC Two and iPlayer on Wednesday, July 8th at 10 p.m., featuring McKenzie Crook and Martin Freeman reminiscing. Johnny Mac noted the timing was fortuitous for him, calling it a slow news week after the Fourth of July. The BBC declined to comment. Gervais had said in 2019 that he was still a fan of the BBC but believed it had become too afraid of complaints, telling The Times that "commissioning editors are scared of being fired."
Weird Al Turned Down a Lucrative AI Commercial
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:13) **Show Open & Heat Wave Jokes** - Johnny Mac opens with a batch of late-bot jokes about the extreme heat, including bits about Trump, Mayor Adams, Nate Bargatze, and Louis C.K.
- 2 (00:40) **Ricky Gervais Skips BBC’s “The Office” Reunion** - Gervais declines to participate in the BBC’s 25th anniversary documentary, opting to film his own version for YouTube.
- 3 (03:03) **Weird Al Yankovic Turns Down AI Commercial** - Yankovic tells Syracuse.com he was offered a “nice pile of money” for a commercial that he later discovered was for an AI company, which he declined on principle.
- 4 (03:30) **Dave Chappelle Visits Mosque After San Diego Shooting** - Chappelle traveled to the Islamic Center of San Diego to pay respects and support fundraising for the families of three victims killed in a mass shooting.
- 5 (03:59) **Trevor Noah & Don Lemon Discuss Kevin Hart Roast Backlash** - On Noah’s podcast, the two dissect the controversy, with Noah noting the racial disparity in joke targets between Black and white comedians at the event.
- 6 (04:19) **John Oliver Guest Stars on “General Hospital”** - Oliver makes a cameo on the long-running soap opera, with the executive producer praising his performance as professional and funny.
- 7 (05:13) **The Onion Launches First InfoWars Parody Shows** - The Onion begins rolling out its first wave of programming on the acquired InfoWars platform, including a parody of Alex Jones and a new Jim Haggerty show.
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
00:14 Late Bot Heat Jokes
00:40 Gervais Skips BBC Reunion
03:07 Weird Al Rejects AI Ad
03:32 Chappelle Mosque Visit
03:59 Trevor Noah Roast Talk
04:19 John Oliver Soap Cameo
05:13 Onion Launches Infowars Parody
06:05 Michael Che Birthday Roast
07:06 Louis C K Special Reviews
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This is the animal sanctuary mentioned in the February 10 episode.
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