Netflix’s ‘Alley Cats’, created, written, directed and voiced by Ricky Gervais, follows a group of stray cats whose days revolve around television, scavenging and petty arguments. The review finds that the series understands cats’ capacity for both cruelty and affection, but says its shifts between crude humour and sentiment rarely produce either strong comedy or genuine emotion.

Gervais voices Gus, the unofficial leader of the group, alongside characters including the aggressive Fang, sex-obsessed Olive, grotesque Puke and domesticated Ponce. Although Blink Industries’ animation is described as clean and the cast’s group-recorded performances have an appealingly relaxed chemistry, the reviewer considers the characters thinly drawn and the overall series “short but shaggy”.