The jury’s out on Steve’s Outlaws
IT’S another exciting year for
Strictly Come Dancing, and some of the partnerships are sizzling through the screen.
It Takes Two on BBC2 is the place to get all the gossip away from the dance floor, and AJ and Kai, left, dropped by to see host Rylan this week. He didn’t waste any time asking them for the
truth behind THAT steamy Argentine tango, which set social media alight. His question about potential romance was met with a long pause, ripples of awkward laughter and some knowing looks, before Kai eventually blamed the drama of the choreography.
That’s no way to slow down the rumour mill…
I’M a fully signed-up superfan of The Office, so whenever Ricky Gervais or Stephen Merchant releases a new series, I’m
always ready to dive in.
Gervais has been more prolific of late, with the award-winning After Life on Netflix – but Merchant has been just as busy behind the scenes, waiting for a show to hit the same heights. He no doubt hopes his latest BBC1 offering, The Outlaws, could be that series.
The show, which began on Monday, has a Misfits-style premise and wanders between dark comedy and tense drama, as you get to know the seven characters thrown together to complete community service orders.
From Instagram darling Gabby (Poldark’s Eleanor Tomlinson) to lonely solicitor Greg (played by Merchant), they each have their own struggles to work through. But gradually, they start to bond, form unlikely friendships and gain insight into each other’s lives.
It’s a neat idea for a short film or play, but can it work across an entire series? Time will tell.
One thing that’s immediately promising is the casting of Darren Boyd as John, a businessman with a chip on his shoulder.
Odd
His criminally underrated comic talents can mine laughter from the smallest of moments, and it’s great to witness him in action here.
Seeing Hollywood legend Christopher Walken as Frank – a seasoned wrong’un whose life of crime has made him an absent father – is also a ‘wow’ moment. Not many series can gather this kind of cast.
The spotlight in the first episode shines on Rani, a quiet, studious girl destined for great things who shocks her parents by shoplifting. She finds herself drawn to Christian – a young guy with a good heart, who makes some bad choices in an attempt to keep his sister safe from the local gang.
Before she knows it, Rani is dragged into his dangerous world.
As the series unfolds, we’ll no doubt discover more about this odd group of outsiders, and the details of the crimes that led them together.
At the moment though, The Outlaws feels like it doesn’t quite know where it wants to go. It doesn’t have the emotional heft to tug at your heartstrings and generally the comedy isn’t sharp enough to keep you invested for the whole hour.
Still, acknowledging the calibre of this group of actors, and the obvious difficulty of introducing so many disparate characters early on, I’m looking forward to investing in a few more episodes.