Ricky Gervais is in trouble. I mean it. While in this interview with The Guardian they talk a lot about his globe-spanning comedy empire the truth is that he’s on the verge of slipping into irrelevancy. His last two movies have been widely ignored, dismissed, and hated by even his most ardent fans. His once popular podcast is now mostly ignored by everyone, since he made the egregious mistake of trying to charge for it. It’s been a few years since Extras, his last great television series and even then, far too few people ever saw it. Honestly, what has Ricky Gervais done lately that you actually enjoyed seeing? Even as a huge fan, I have to admit, pretty much nothing.

I’m convinced that it’s not because he isn’t a genius, I think he’s simply made a few wrong turns. A right turn here or there could put him right back on top again and he is working on a new TV series about a showbiz dwarf. That sounds promising. Even more tantalizing is a new film project he’s writing with a mysterious collaborator. That sounds exciting right? He’s supposed to be on the new season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, what if it’s Larry David? Nope, it’s Ben Stiller.

At least that’s what Ricky told The Guardian when they asked who the collaborator was. The way they’ve reported it though, it’s impossible to tell whether, perhaps, he was simply joking. Knowing Ricky, he might have been. I like Ben Stiller in small doses but Ricky Gervais and Ben Stiller together? That just sounds all kinds of wrong.