What’s Worth Watching: Derek’s Very Special Episode

Derek, “The Special” (Friday, April 3, Netflix)

Ricky Gervais has a reputation for malice, mostly because he mocked celebs to their faces as host of the Golden Globes—rather than, like the rest of us, on Twitter. But Derek, which stars the Brit (who also wrote and directed every episode) as a mentally challenged man working in a retirement home, is all about how nice humans can be. This one-hour special, which doubles as the series finale, details Derek and the residents’ joyful preparations for the wedding of the home’s selfless care worker, Hannah (Kerry Godliman), to Tom (Brett Goldstein) and the birth of their baby. What ensues is a mess, but due more to hardship than hijinks. You’ll still laugh hard—but never at Derek’s disability (which is why Gervais keeps getting award nominations for his performance) and only a few times at someone going No. 2 in their pants.