The BBC has released new images from the third series of The Outlaws, the comedy-drama co-created by Stephen Merchant (The Office) and Elgin James.
The show concerns a group of strangers brought together by community service. Among them are lawyer and social disaster Greg Dillard, played by Merchant, and Frank Sheldon, a former conman played by Christopher Walken (Pulp Fiction).
Series one saw the gang come into contact with a bag of money, drawing them into the world of the Dean (Claes Bang), a drug lord who wants his cash back. The second series sees the group go deeper into the world of crime, selling drugs themselves.
Now, the Dean is awaiting trial behind bars. The Outlaws are trying to get their lives back on track, until one of them returns with a secret. The gang soon finds themselves subject to a murder manhunt. If the Dean’s case implodes, he’ll be back out on the street in no time, and after revenge. Short on time, it falls to the Outlaws to prove their innocence.
Merchant first rose to prominence as co-creator as The Office, and also co-created Extras, another BBC sitcom. His film roles include appearances in Logan and JoJo Rabbit.
The show’s co-creator, Elgin James, is less well known to British audiences. Elgin emerged from Boston’s hardcore punk scene, where in the late 1980s he founded FSU, an antifascist gang with a reputation for violence. The name is short for ‘Friends Stand United’ or ‘F*ck Shit Up’, depending on who you ask.
In 2011, Elgin was sentenced for extortion the same day he was offered a writing contract at Universal Studios. The filmmaker has since renounced violence, and has called his odd-couple collaboration with Merchant “the billboard for our own show”.
Merchant returns as Greg alongside Jessica Gunning (Baby Reindeer) as Diane, Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter) as Frank, Rhianne Barreto (No Escape) as Rani, Gamba Cole (Soon Gone: A Windrush Chronicle) as Ben, Eleanor Tomlinson (Poldark) as Lady Gabby, Darren Boyd (Killing Eve) as John, Clare Perkins (The Wheel of Time) as Myrna, Charles Babalola (Black Mirror) as Malaki and Tom Hanson (Brassic) as Spencer.
Series three of The Outlaws airs on BBC One in May 2024, and will be available on BBC iPlayer.
