Christopher Walken

BBC releases series three pictures of Stephen Merchant comedy-drama The Outlaws

From left to right, Stephen Merchant, Clare Perkins, Gamba Cole, Darren Boyd and Jessica Gunning stand outdoors. Gunning is facing the rest of them, who look apprehensive.

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.

Stephen Merchant and his co-creators on combining comedy and thriller in The Outlaws

The eagerly awaited second series of Stephen Merchant’s comedy thriller The Outlaws received its premiere in Bristol in front of a sell-out, home-town audience, ahead of its return to BBC One on 5 June. 

The first episode of a series that follows the lives of seven minor felons completing a Community Payback sentence marked a hugely confident return, delivering big laughs and jeopardy as the characters try to escape the clutches of a violent drug lord. 

First look images released for Stephen Merchant’s upcoming series The Outlaws

Christopher Walken as Frank (credit: BBC/ Amazon Prime Studios)

Starring Academy Award-winning actor Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter) in his first lead role on British television, The Outlaws will also feature performances from writer and director Stephen Merchant (The Office), Rhianne Barreto (Honour), Gamba Cole (Hanna), Darren Boyd (Killing Eve), Clare Perkins (EastEnders), Eleanor Tomlinson (Poldark), Jessica Gunning (Back) and Charles Babalola (Bancroft).

First look released for Stephen Merchant series The Offenders

(credit: BBC/ Amazon Prime Video)

The series will see Academy Award-winner Christopher Walken make his first lead role on British television. Written, starring and directed by Stephen Merchant (The Office), The Offenders follows a mismatched bunch of strangers brought together to complete a Community Payback sentence in Bristol.

Casting announced for Stephen Merchant’s The Offenders

(credit: Big Talk)

Academy Award-winning actor Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter) will be making his leading British television debut as Frank, a long-established swindler undertaking community service in Bristol.

The Offenders follows seven strangers from vastly different backgrounds, who come together as part of Community Payback sentence in Bristol. As they grow to become more involved in each other’s lives, they also accidentally become entwined with a hardened criminal gang.