The Outlaws season 3 is back as the motley group of small-time offenders land themselves up to their necks in trouble once more.
In the third five-part season of the BBC One and Prime Video comedy-drama, bumbling lawyer Greg, played by the show’s co-writer Stephen Merchant, and his fellow petty criminals are continuing to carry out their sentences with the Community Payback Scheme in Bristol under the beady eye of gung-ho supervisor Diane (Baby Reindeer's Jessica Gunning).
But gangster the Dean (Bad Sisters' Claes Bang), on whom they planted drugs in the last season, is seeking revenge, while shoplifter Rani (No Escape's Rhianne Barreto) turns up to ask for her old pals’ help with a dead body. But will they band together to lend a hand?
What To Watch caught up with Stephen Merchant to get the lowdown on season three of The Outlaws…
What can you tell us about the third season?
“Well, this is my favourite series, because it's the first time I've got to a third series of anything! But as a writing team you know what you're doing, the actors are in their groove and the audience knows the world, so you can just plunge in and get on with the adventure. There’s lots going on.”
How do they react when Rani turns up with a dead body?
“If you're doing a crime thriller, you may as well have a dead body show up, I’d be disappointed if there isn’t one! So Rani shows up with a dead body. And inevitably the question is, why? Has she murdered this person in cold blood? And how would they, as just regular people, react if they had to bury it?"
They also have the Dean on their case…
"Yes, he's after revenge. And even though he's awaiting trial, he thinks he's found a way to corrupt the case and get the charges thrown out and come after them. So they have that looming over them and the police are also onto them. So there are threats in all sorts of directions. But I love Claes Bang, he's terrific, a sickeningly handsome man, extremely talented, and a nice guy, which makes me furious. But I graciously let him be in the show!”
Will the gang unite to face their problems together again?
“Yes, by this third series, they have all these unlikely friendships and it's quite a hopeful show in the way that completely disparate groups of people with all kinds of views and life stories can find trust in one another and work together when the **** hits the fan.”
Jessica Gunning is fabulous as Diane, you must be proud that she is enjoying success with Netflix’s Baby Reindeer at the moment?
“Yes, we weren't expecting her to suddenly become a superstar! We knew she was fantastic though. And for this third series she wrote the last episode with me too. Aside from being a great drama actor, she's so funny, her versatility is majestic and this time, Diane goes to the dark side at one point, which was fun to give Jess to do.”
Will we also see Christopher Walken back as Frank?
“There is a bit of Chris. The filming schedule coincided with the writers/actors strike in America. And then Chris also had Dune and Severance so it was proving tricky to get him over here. Luckily, we managed to bag him, so he is in the show, not perhaps as thoroughly as we would have liked, but he's as wonderful as ever. I still can't quite believe that Christopher Walken came to my hometown of Bristol to do a show for me!”
And you’ve got some new characters in determined cop Burgess (Ricky Grover), Diane’s new assistant Stan (Harry Trevaldwyn), Myrna’s old flame Sean (Patrick Robinson), and Gabby’s new girlfriend Sarah (Chelsea Edge)...
“I worked with Ricky [EastEnders] years ago, when I first got a traineeship at the BBC and we did the world's cheapest comedy sketch show. Ever since then, I've always wanted to work with him again and Burgess was the perfect role for him. He's so funny but can also be tough and menacing.
“Then with Harry [Ten Percent] as Stan it’s lovely to have someone who worships Diane and is in awe of her and who she can mistreat in a sweet way! And Patrick’s wonderful. Myrna [the protester played by EastEnders' Clare Perkins] had spent so many years as an activist, she'd bricked herself off from romance, but she reconnects with Sean.
“And with Chelsea [Death in Paradise] as Sarah, Gabby [the recovering addict played by Poldark and The Couple Next Door's Eleanor Tomlinson] is trying to turn her life around, but a health issue means she needs to have a baby urgently, if she wants to have one, and there is pressure with that…”
What was it like filming the City Farm scenes where the offenders carry out their community service?
“I had to get in a pen with some pigs, who, if they step on your foot, can give you an almighty bruise with those little trotters! If you throw down seed or grain to get them to stay in one place, they don't care what they step on for that stuff. And it's hard for my size 14 feet to avoid a pig’s trotter!”
You will next be executive producing on a new reboot of The Office for Peacock in the US…
“Yes, that'll be within the world of the American version of The Office, but with new characters and a new universe. I am very excited to see what they come up with, Greg Daniels, who did the American version is involved. It's all hush-hush at the moment, but they've just released a few bits of information. I am just intrigued to see how office life would have changed. Because I imagine most of it's on Zoom. People barely show up to the office!”
The Outlaws airs in the UK on BBC One from Thursday, May 30 at 9pm and will be available as a box-set on BBCiPlayer. It will also air on Prime Video in the US from Friday 31 May.
