Stephen Merchant’s ‘The Outlaws’ returns for a third round of community service
Photo credit: Alistair Heap.
The BBC and Amazon Studios announce a third series of Stephen Merchant’s The Outlaws from Big Talk and Four Eyes.
The Outlaws is a comedy thriller series from multi-award-winning writer and director Stephen Merchant, originally created by Merchant and Elgin James (co-creator of US series Mayans M.C.) The series follows a group of strangers from different walks of life forced together to complete a Community Payback sentence in Bristol.
With crime boss The Dean behind bars awaiting trial, the Outlaws are moving on with their lives – until one of their own returns with a deadly secret, hurling them back into mortal danger. As a murder manhunt closes in on the gang, can they prove their innocence before The Dean’s case collapses, and he comes looking for revenge?
The series will see the return of Stephen Merchant (The Office, Four Lives, Jojo Rabbit), nominated for his role as Greg at the upcoming BAFTA TV Awards 2023 in the category of Male Performance in a Comedy Programme, Rhianne Barreto (Honour, Hanna), Gamba Cole (Soon Gone: A Windrush Chronicle, Hanna), Darren Boyd (The Salisbury Poisonings, Killing Eve), Clare Perkins (The Wheel of Time, EastEnders), Eleanor Tomlinson (Intergalactic, Poldark), Jessica Gunning (Back), Charles Babalola (Bancroft), Tom Hanson (Brassic), and Claes Bang (Bad Sisters, Dracula).
Stephen Merchant says: “After the overwhelming response to the first two series, I’m delighted to be bringing back our lovable band of miscreants for more misadventures. Audiences have really taken the characters to their hearts, so I can’t wait for them to see what hot water we’ve thrown them into this time. And I’m thrilled we’ll once again be filming in my hometown of Bristol. I expect I’ll be welcomed with a ticker-tape parade. It didn’t happen on the previous series, but I put that down to Covid.”
Jon Petrie, Director of Comedy, BBC, says: “We couldn’t be happier to have The Outlaws back in our lives. Stephen and the team have delivered a fantastic set of scripts for the third series, and we can’t wait to see the incredible cast bring them to life for BBC viewers to enjoy.”
Luke Alkin, Executive Producer, Big Talk, says: “We’re delighted to be bringing Stephen’s brilliant show back to Bristol for another outing. The new series is thrillingly funny as The Outlaws are pulled even deeper into a dangerous criminal web. Audiences are in for a huge treat.”
Mark Linsey, President, Scripted, BBC Studios Production says: “The Outlaws series one and two have been a great success with audiences globally and we are very pleased to be working again with the talented Stephen Merchant and the team at Big Talk to bring the hilarious band of criminals back for another series with our partners at Amazon Prime Video.”
The series is a co-production between the BBC and Amazon Studios. The new series was commissioned by Jon Petrie, Director of Comedy Commissioning for BBC One and BBC iPlayer, produced by Big Talk (Mum, Friday Night Dinner, Back) with Stephen Merchant’s Four Eyes. Big Talk is part of ITV Studios.
The Outlaws (5 x 60’) will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK and on Prime Video in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Nordics. BBC Studios will handle international distribution for series three in addition to series one and two.
The series is created by Stephen Merchant and Elgin James. Executive producers are Stephen Merchant for Four Eyes, Luke Alkin, Kenton Allen and Matthew Justice for Big Talk, and John Butler. Seb Barwell is the commissioning editor for the BBC. The directors are John Butler (Papi Chulo) and Curtis Vowell (Baby Done). The producer is Frances du Pille (The Sixth Commandment).
Filming on series three is now underway in and around Bristol.
For the original release, please visit the BBC Media Centre.
