Gervais began his stand-up career in the late 1990s; his first successful show took place at the Cafe Royal, as part of the 2001 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Titled Rubbernecker, the show also featured Jimmy Carr, Robin Ince and Stephen Merchant.

Gervais later toured the UK in 2003 with his stand-up show Animals.
The Politics tour followed a year later.
Both of these shows were recorded for release on DVD and television broadcast.
The third part of the themed live trilogy, Fame, took place in 2007.
It started in Glasgow in January and ended in Sheffield in April.
Blackpool reported selling out of tickets within 45 minutes of them going on sale.

Newsnight Review's panel saw Animals during its Bloomsbury run and covered it in January 2003.
They were not favourable, with Private Eye editor Ian Hislop saying it was "cobbled together ... banal ... a bit flat".
After this, Gervais closed each show by calling Hislop an "ugly little pug-faced cunt".

Fame was the subject of some controversy in January 2007 when Gervais told a story, ostensibly about how people will do anything to become famous, referring to the murder of prostitutes in Ipswich.

Gervais's fourth show was entitled Science, and commenced with an eleven-date tour in August 2009 at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow.
The DVD for Science was released on 15 November 2010.

In November 2009, he headlined the sixth annual New York Comedy Festival at Carnegie Hall.

In 2013, Gervais announced that his next stand-up show would be called Humanity.
In December 2014, he said he was too busy to do this tour due to producing two films.

In May 2016, Gervais was back doing stand-up in London, starting with some low key warm-ups with cast members from Derek.
He said, "Finally, I'm going to do some stand-up.
The first in about six years if you don't count hosting the Golden Globes".

He continued his Humanity show throughout 2017 and into 2018; appearing at SF Sketchfest as part of the tour, which devoted a night in honor of the comedian, alongside comedic legend and mentor Christopher Guest.

His next tour and Netflix special SuperNature was announced in late 2018, where Gervais warned people not to travel to see “work in progress” as it would be a “shambles”.
The SuperNature shows continued through 2019 and 2020.
Gervais began his stand-up career in the late 1990s; his first successful show took place at the Cafe Royal, as part of the 2001 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Titled Rubbernecker, the show also featured Jimmy Carr, Robin Ince and Stephen Merchant.
Gervais later toured the UK in 2003 with his stand-up show Animals. The Politics tour followed a year later. Both of these shows were recorded for release on DVD and television broadcast. The third part of the themed live trilogy, Fame, took place in 2007. It started in Glasgow in January and ended in Sheffield in April. Blackpool reported selling out of tickets within 45 minutes of them going on sale.
Newsnight Review's panel saw Animals during its Bloomsbury run and covered it in January 2003. They were not favourable, with Private Eye editor Ian Hislop saying it was "cobbled together ... banal ... a bit flat". After this, Gervais closed each show by calling Hislop an "ugly little pug-faced cunt".
Fame was the subject of some controversy in January 2007 when Gervais told a story, ostensibly about how people will do anything to become famous, referring to the murder of prostitutes in Ipswich.
Gervais's fourth show was entitled Science, and commenced with an eleven-date tour in August 2009 at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow. The DVD for Science was released on 15 November 2010.
In November 2009, he headlined the sixth annual New York Comedy Festival at Carnegie Hall.
In 2013, Gervais announced that his next stand-up show would be called Humanity. In December 2014, he said he was too busy to do this tour due to producing two films.
In May 2016, Gervais was back doing stand-up in London, starting with some low key warm-ups with cast members from Derek. He said, "Finally, I'm going to do some stand-up. The first in about six years if you don't count hosting the Golden Globes".
He continued his Humanity show throughout 2017 and into 2018; appearing at SF Sketchfest as part of the tour, which devoted a night in honor of the comedian, alongside comedic legend and mentor Christopher Guest.
His next tour and Netflix special SuperNature was announced in late 2018, where Gervais warned people not to travel to see “work in progress” as it would be a “shambles”. The SuperNature shows continued through 2019 and 2020.
Ricky Gervais