The Outlaws 9.00pm BBC1 Catch up via iPlayer
Stephen Merchant’s take on crime comedy — a West Country western, of sorts — was a surprise hit when it debuted in 2021.
Initially following a group of small-time offenders doing community service in Bristol who find a bag of illicit cash, over two series we’ve seen this unlikely crew (including an aristocratic influencer, a lifelong protestor, a right-wing businessman, a lonely lawyer and
two troubled teenagers) hoodwink the cops, outwit drug dealers and get away with the spoils. Or so we thought.
Because for this third series, writer/star Merchant has raised the stakes once more, wrapping the remaining gang up into a genuine murder plot while they’re hunted by a suave drug lord (Claes Bang). It’s a mark of Merchant’s light touch that as the story gets darker, it remains just as laugh-out-loud funny.
Another change, at least in tonight’s opening episode, is that big-name star Christopher Walken is nowhere to be seen. But happily, the well-drawn ensemble cast (including a scenestealing comedy turn from Baby Reindeer’s Jessica Gunning) means you barely notice his absence. See feature: page 18