News / television
First look at series three of The Outlaws
Stephen Merchant said the actors playing characters in The Outlaws “slipped straight back into their roles like comfy pyjamas” for the hit comedy-thriller’s third series.
The latest plot will see the motley crew of seven getting on with their lives after they were brought together by their community service sentences and a bag of cash, with crime boss The Dean behind bars and awaiting trial.
“The gang are moving on from their life of crime until one of them returns with a deadly secret that hurls them back into mortal danger,” Merchant, who plays lawyer Greg and created and produced the show, told the Radio Times.
is needed now More than ever
In the new series Greg finds himself in court, with Merchant adding: ”Stephen the actor hates Stephen the showrunner because he gives him pages of difficult jargon to learn. And bad suits to wear.”
The Outlaws cast (and a glimpse of Hotwells and Cliftonwood) – photo: BBC / Amazon Studios / Big Talk / Four Eyes
Merchant continued: “The break between series gave us breathing space to really work out where we wanted to take the characters next – plus we could write specifically for the actors and tailor the storylines to their talents.
“In the first two series, the actors were figuring out their characters. Now they know them inside out, so they slipped straight back into their roles like comfy pyjamas.”
Filming for the new series started in 2023:
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The Outlaws, written by Hanham-born Merchant and filmed in Bristol, follows the lives of seven strangers from different walks of life forced together to complete a Community Payback sentence.
As well as Merchant, the third series will see the return of 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).
Speaking when the season was first announced back in May 2023, Merchant said: “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.”
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The Outlaws series three is due to air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in 2024.
Main photo: The Outlaws
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