Stephen Merchant has thanked fans of his BBC series The Outlaws after viewers heaped praise on the second series. The Bristol-based crime-comedy thriller returned to TV screens last night (Sunday, June 5), with the whole series now available to stream on the iPlayer - and some fans have already indulged in the full series.
The BBC revealed in May that the first series of the show had been the broadcasters "biggest comedy launch of 2021" and had been streamed 11m times on their streaming site. The six-part second series follows on from the first instalment and sees the return of cast members including Hollywood legend Christopher Walken alongside Rhianne Barreto, Gamba Cole, Darren Boyd and Clare Perkins.
Many fans have already binge-watched all six episodes of series two and taking to Twitter today (June 6), Stephen thanked his 657k fans for all the "love" on the new instalment. He said: "Thanks to everyone who sent love for The Outlaws Series 2, particularly those who’ve already binged all episodes on @BBCiPlayer. You can find more behind the scenes fan chat on the ‘Inside The Outlaws’ podcast on @BBCSounds."
Fans were quick to respond to the 47-year-old comedian and actor, with Gemma Esprey tweeting: "Really enjoyed episode 1 of S2 last night. It’ll be our evening viewing all this week. Brilliant show!"
Rab Garrick added: "Excellent show just the right amount of drama and comedy with a great cast."
"Absolutely stunning Stephen and beautifully directed," another viewer Russell Prue replied, "Just caught up on Series 1 over the weekend, loved every moment. Highly recommended folks and a lovely way to see Bristol."
Kelly Oxley added: "Thanks @StephenMerchant for putting the whole second series of #theoutlaws on iPlayer… I guess I’d better put the kettle on, no sleep for me tonight #bingewatching."
The show's creator has already teased that there have been talks around a third series. Speaking to National Public Radio in the US, Hanham-born Stephen said: "I feel like there's quite a lot of mileage in these characters."
The Outlaws continues each Sunday on BBC One from 9pm for the next five weeks. Alternatively, all six episodes of series two are now available to watch on the BBC iPlayer.