The six-part comedy crime thriller set in Bristol will follow a group of seven complete strangers brought together to complete a Community Payback sentence.

The group of misfits from different walks of life form unlikely friendships, and each character’s complicated life is brought into play. As the initial façades begin to slip, The Offenders delves into what made each character the complex people they are today.

When one falls into trouble, the group must unite to protect them from Bristol’s most dangerous gang.

Taking inspiration from his parents’ work in the world of community service, Stephen Merchant commented: "I was always intrigued that the many and varied people they dealt with only had one thing in common: they’d committed a crime.

“As a writer I always include humour, but with The Offenders I also get to add drama, pathos, crime genre thrills and say something optimistic about the common humanity that unites us all, whatever our background.”