British actor, comedian, producer and filmmaker Ricky Gervais is set to return to adult animation with a new Netflix series called Alley Cats. The project, which is being staged by Gervais’s Derek Productions together with Blink Industries, consists of six 15-minute episodes and is scheduled to launch next year. The show follows a group of British feral cats who reflect on the struggles of everyday life while seeking companionship. Netflix describes the series as being “packed with Gervais’s signature style of heart and social commentary”.

The voice cast features a number of well-known UK comics, including Diane Morgan, Tom Basden and Kerry Godliman, along with Andrew Brooke, David Earl, Jo Hartley, Natalie Cassidy and Tony Way.

Gervais, who also lends his voice to one of the cats, commented with his trademark irony: “I play a fat, lazy, rude, opinionated creature with fangs, who is not as smart or brave as he thinks he is. So quite a stretch.”

The comedian is co-directing the series with Elliot Dear, whilst Tang Heng (Kung Fu Panda) serves as production designer. Gervais is also on board as executive producer alongside Steven Hamilton Shaw, of Shush Creative, while Blink Industries handles the animation.

Alley Cats marks Gervais’s first animated project in over a decade, following the conclusion of HBO and Channel 4’s The Ricky Gervais Show, which adapted the popular podcast he created with Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington.

The announcement comes the same week that Netflix unveiled another UK project, a new, untitled detective comedy series from Charlie Brooker starring Paddy Considine and Lena Headey.