Brit wit Ricky Gervais, who’s on TV almost as much as Everybody Loves Raymond reruns these days, will host the Golden Globes for the second consecutive year, when NBC presents the award-season kickoff on Jan 16. “I can’t believe they invited me back after the awful things I said,” Gervais said in a statement. “Let’s see how far I can go this time.”

Gervais’ casual irreverence helped improve the Globes’ ratings and viewership from the previous year. “As viewers discovered with our last awards telecast, Ricky’s surprising and unpredictable humor is a great fit for the Globes which will continue as a live event across the nation,” said Paul Telegdy, executive vice president of alternative programming at NBC-Universal Media Studios. “He’s a true force of nature with a wicked sense of humor who always keeps everyone on their toes waiting for the unexpected.”

HBO recently approved a second season of Gervais’ namesake animated series.

Just wanted to drop a quick note letting you all know that we’ll be providing running commentary during the Golden Globes tonight at 8 pm EST on NBC. Specifically Aparna Nancherla, DC-based comedian, who has one of our most favorite Twitter feeds, will be tweeting. So, be sure to follow us at twitter.com/punchlinemag. And start following Aparna at @aparnapkin.

This Sunday, Ricky Gervais will host the Golden Globe Awards, airing live on NBC at 8 pm EST. We wouldn’t normally suggest you watch an awards show, since they’re typically self-indulgent, boring and highlight some of the worst pieces of entertainment the world has to offer. However, Ricky Gervais is hosting. We’ve mentioned that, right? Get yourself in the mood for some Ricky by watching this great interview below.

“I don’t know what the Golden Globes were thinking. I haven’t been a host in over 100 years. They take a chance,” Gervais says.” That’s the fun of it, isn’t it? I like doing things where I don’t know whether it will enhance my career or end it.”

The Office creator has also recently announced live show stops in London and Los Angeles and promises that he’ll be turning this current tour into a world-wide event. “The Office is shown in about 90 countries, so I’ve been promising myself I’ll visit some of them,” he told the BBC. “I’m going to do the first world live comedy tour.” He hasn’t announced where exactly he’ll be touring. Stay tuned!

Ricky Gervais’s star continues to grow, and the huge man behind the huge laughs will appropriately make a huge pit-stop on his current stand-up tour: Wembley Arena, reports Chortle, the UK’s leading sourcing of comedy news.

At a capacity of 12,500, these April 26 and 27 shows at the renowned London sports arena are sure to boost the comic’s rising persona to unprecedented heights. He’ll be headed to States after his stop at Wembley. And we’ll be watching closely to see what Gervais’ next move is. That is, after he hosts the Golden Globes Jan. 17 and after his new animated series debuts on HBO next month. In fact, check out a clip of the show below.

The show is based on his enormously popular podcast, The Ricky Gervais Show. HBO ordered 13 half hour episodes, which will center on Gervais’s hapless and eccentric producer Karl Pilkington, as well cartoon versions of Gervais and writing partner Stephen Merchant.

By now you know Ricky Gervais is hosting the Golden Globes on Jan. 17 on NBC. What you may not know is that Ricky’s goal for the night is to simply make celebrities’ lives a bit less harsh. Here’s that message in Ricky’s words.

And now there’s video proof.

As we reported a few days ago, Gervais promises to spend a healthy amount of time during the live broadcast making fun of celebrities. “All of them, anyone younger and thinner and richer and more attractive than me. That’s the ones I’m going for,” Gervais said. The big show is going down on Jan. 17 on NBC.

Ricky Gervais is on a roll, and the Golden Globes are only the next on the series of stopping points for the rising star. Given what we already know about Mr. Original Office, it should probably come as a surprise to no one that he plans to treat his upcoming gig as host of the Golden Globes in the manner of Sammy Davis, Jr., or Frank Sinatra. That is to say, the stars are in for a tongue lashing.

“All of them, anyone younger and thinner and richer and more attractive than me. That’s the ones I’m going for,” Gervais told reporters, in identifying his target… well, targets.

The ceremony is set to air on January 17, on NBC. Interestingly enough, Gervais is the first official host of the Globes since 1995.

In the wake of a few recent box office disappointments (didn’t take The Invention of Lying long to go the way of the cotton gin, did it?), Ricky Gervais will be adding a more surefire endeavor to his resume: Golden Globes host.

In a press statement, the head-honcho of the original Office had this to say: “Not only is this the biggest Hollywood celebration of the industry which includes both film and TV, but also an environment where I feel I can get free rein as a host. I have resisted many other offers like this, but there are just some things you don’t turn down.”

Given the more relaxed and alcohol-fueled atmosphere usually fostered by the Globes, Gervais may just have found his mainstream comedic niche.