Netflix's After Life Review: 6 Ups & 3 Downs

1. The Authentic Look At Traumatic Mental Health Issues

There are lots of TV shows about mental health. There are, actually, a lot of TV shows that exploit mental health issues for cheap entertainment, but there are also some that try to do good. Incredibly for a show so in love with itself at times and so intent on pushing Gervais' personal agenda, the approach to mental health issues in After Life is as good as it's ever been.

It's a surprisingly mature, surprisingly agile portrait of real despair and depression (in a number of different characters), which takes in issues like self-determinism, which is something most shows about suicide would avoid as a dangerous, triggering area. Considering how the Samaritans deal with that, it's a key thing not to ignore.

Anyone who has experienced profound mental health issues or has lived alongside someone dealing with intense trauma will recognise a lot of things, which is as welcome as it is shocking. This show KNOWS the shape of mental health issues and its commitment to not shying away from it is to be heavily commended.

What did you think of After Life? Share your thoughts below in the comments thread.