Fresh from a monumental world tour, comedy titan Ricky Gervais has unveiled the cheeky title for his next stand-up venture: 'Legend'. The 64-year-old creator of The Office revealed the name, stating he wants to pre-emptively shape his legacy, ensuring critics and fans alike will have to refer to him as such in the future.
Provocative Title Follows Global Success
The announcement comes hot on the heels of his previous show, 'Mortality', which achieved phenomenal success. After its global tour throughout 2024-2025, the special was released on Netflix on December 30 and swiftly reached the number one spot, amassing millions of streams. The live tour itself was a box-office juggernaut, featuring over 80 arena shows worldwide.
Gervais played iconic venues including LA's Hollywood Bowl, New York's Radio City Music Hall, a 14-night residency at the London Palladium, and three massive shows at the OVO Arena Wembley. The tour broke English-speaking comedy records in numerous European countries, from Spain and Italy to Germany and the Nordic nations. From the extra profits of Platinum Ticket sales, Gervais generously donated £2.5 million to charity.
Gervais on Stand-Up as "The Last Bastion of Free Speech"
Speaking to Romesh Ranganathan on his podcast, Gervais elaborated on his passion for stand-up. "Stand-up is the thing I love the most," he said. "It's the thing I love being the biggest part of my career now." He explained that his perspective shifted with his 'Humanity' tour, moving from seeing himself primarily as a writer and director to embracing his identity as a stand-up comedian who occasionally creates TV shows.
"I love this, I travel the world and it feels like the last bastion of free speech," Gervais stated. "Outside of the novel, it's the only thing where there's no filter, you don't need 60 people to create your vision, it's you and I love that."
Golden Globes Nomination and Aversion to "The Other Stuff"
Despite being nominated in the Best Stand-Up category at this weekend's Golden Globes, Gervais has indicated he is unlikely to attend the ceremony. The comedian, who has hosted the awards five times, expressed a distinct lack of interest in the glitz and glamour.
"I'm probably not going to the Golden Globes … It's too far to go," he said during an appearance on BBC Radio 4's This Cultural Life. "It takes a lot to get me off the couch with my cat and my girlfriend watching Netflix. I love the work, I love writing, I love creating, I love stand-up, but all the other stuff I could really do without."
Gervais confirmed he has already started warm-up shows for the new 'Legend' tour, joking about the motivation behind the title: "Just in case it's my last tour, I want to call it Legend. It's like I'm forcing their obituary, 'he was known as legend', no, he said that! I think the idea will be that it's about me but obviously I'm going to fall on my face. I think it's a funny thing to say about yourself."
