Life's Too Short
HBO | BBC Two | BBC2 | Release Date: November 10, 2011
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
64
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
6
Negative:
2
Watch Now
Buy on
Stream On

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Boston HeraldMark A. PerigardFeb 21, 2012
Season 1 Review: Life may be short, but this comedy is not long enough. Read full review
83
Uncle BarkyEd BarkFeb 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: Life's Too Short is an acquired taste worth acquiring. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalDorothy RabinowitzFeb 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: The real Messrs. Gervais and Merchant haven't lost their touch with self-humiliating characters. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterTim GoodmanFeb 16, 2012
Season 1 Review: With Life's Too Short, he [Ricky Gervais] again delivers. Read full review
80
Denver PostJoanne OstrowFeb 16, 2012
Season 1 Review: That uncomfortable flash of shame even as we smile at his antics is what makes Life's Too Short so oddly engaging. Read full review
75
New York PostLinda StasiFeb 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: Either you'll laugh out loud, knowing that Davis helped create this, or call for Gervais' head--probably in a garbage pail. Read full review
75
NewsdayVerne GayFeb 16, 2012
Season 1 Review: Odd...make that very odd, and not for all tastes--probably very few. But there are some funny bits. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleDavid WiegandFeb 15, 2012
Season 1 Review: The truth is, it takes a very big man to laugh at himself, and a very good actor to get us laughing along with him as well. Read full review
70
TV Guide MagazineMatt RoushFeb 21, 2012
Season 1 Review: Comedy isn't pretty, but in the Short run, it can be painfully hilarious, even when it feels like Gervais is retreading some awfully familiar material here. Read full review
70
The New York TimesMike HaleFeb 16, 2012
Season 1 Review: What's different about Life's Too Short, and what makes it watchable, is that Mr. Davis--who portrayed Filius Flitwick in the "Harry Potter" films, as well as multiple "Star Wars" Ewoks--is so good at playing Mr. Gervais's stock character. Read full review
60
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob OwenFeb 21, 2012
Season 1 Review: The show conjures the most laughs when Mr. Gervais is on screen, but his presence doesn't mesh naturally with Warwick's world. Read full review
58
HitfixAlan SepinwallFeb 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: Though there are some good jokes here and there about the humiliations a little person actor has to endure on your average movie set, for the most part, the biggest laughs have little to do with Davis and everything to do with the celebrity guests. Read full review
50
TimeJames PoniewozikFeb 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: Life's Too Short can be uncomfortably funny in a familiar way, and if you're OK with the familiarity, you might like it well enough. But the problem with the humor of discomfort, which Gervais pioneered with distinction, is that it doesn't last long when it becomes a comfort zone. Read full review
50
VarietyBrian LowryFeb 16, 2012
Season 1 Review: Measured against the yardstick of their own lofty standards, the show comes up a little short. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesMary McNamaraFeb 21, 2012
Season 1 Review: Too often Life's Too Short feels like two shows stuck together with a bit of chewing gum. Read full review
40
Washington PostHank StueverFeb 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: Almost everything about Life's Too Short somehow echoes pieces of all of Gervais's previous TV work, which makes this show seem particularly limp. Read full review
30
The Huffington PostMaureen RyanFeb 16, 2012
Season 1 Review: There is awkwardness and idiocy on display in Life's Too Short, which stars actor Warwick Davis as a hopefully inaccurate version of himself, but almost none of it is funny, much of it is off-putting and all of it is pointless. Read full review
25
Slant MagazinePhillip MaciakFeb 21, 2012
Season 1 Review: Life's Too Short is occupied with nonsensical and barely developed sketch ideas as well as Extras-style celebrity cameos, Gervais and Merchant among them. Read full review
Current TV Shows
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 92 The Pitt: Season 2
2 90 The Celebrity Traitors UK: Season 1
3 87 Hacks: Season 5
4 87 Industry: Season 4
5 87 Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal:...
6 85 The Beatles Anthology
7 85 The Traitors [UK]: Season 4
8 85 Bait: Season 1
9 84 Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!
10 83 Lord of the Flies
11 83 Riot Women: Season 1
12 83 For All Mankind: Season 5
13 81 The Muppet Show (2026)
14 80 Outlander (2014): Season 8
15 80 The Other Bennet Sister: Season 1
16 80 The Mighty Nein: Season 1
17 80 The Comeback: Season 3
18 80 The American Revolution
19 80 One Piece (2023): Season 2
20 80 Dark Winds: Season 4
SEE ALL