Oh, to live in the UK. This is why I purchased a multi-region DVD player a few years ago – so I could watch British comedies that never came out on US Region 1 DVD.

A few years ago, I heard of the Office when it was first running in the UK. It came out on DVD shortly after the first season, so I bought it without ever having seen it and showed it to my marketing department. Ricky Gervais quickly became one of my all-time favorite comedians.

And I hadn’t even yet experienced the years of Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington on XFM radio. (They’re available via torrent sites all over the Internet, and well worth it.)

The radio show introduced me to Karl Pilkington, who I think is a genius for his life philosophy, unique analysis and unintentional comedy. He brings out the best in Ricky Gervais.

So it’s with great excitement that I can’t wait to see Gervais’ new show, Derek, which is premiering soon in the UK. He finally incorporates Karl Pilkington into his work, and I can’t wait to see how the two play together. From the brief preview seen below, my guess is that he definitely allowed Pilkington to write some of his own character.

Can’t wait to see this latest work from Gervais…

– My name is Jon Friesch, and I strongly recommend taking the time to listen to every broadcast of the Ricky Gervais Show on XFM radio.