# The Outlaws (2021)

> Seven strangers forced to renovate a derelict community centre are pulled into organised crime when one of them gets entangled in its dangers.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/112371

## Facts

- Seasons: 3
- Episodes: 17
- Episode runtime: 58 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy, crime, drama
- Created by: Stephen Merchant, Elgin James
- Network: BBC One
- Cast: Christopher Walken, Rhianne Barreto, Darren Boyd, Gamba Cole, Jessica Gunning, Clare Perkins, Eleanor Tomlinson, Grace Calder
- TMDB rating: 7.7/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11646832/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: mild
- Tone: irreverent, slapstick, warm, breezy, tense

## What critics say

Audiences rate the series positively, finding its mix of comedy and crime warm and entertaining despite uneven silliness.

## Synopsis

The Outlaws (2021-2024) is a British crime comedy series created by Stephen Merchant and Elgin James for BBC One. Seven strangers from very different walks of life, including Rani (Rhianne Barreto), John (Darren Boyd), Diane (Jessica Gunning) and Myrna (Clare Perkins), are sentenced to renovate a derelict community centre under community service. They resent the menial physical labour and resent one another, and the engine of the show is that friction: petty squabbles over tools, schedules and pride grind against the slow progress of the building work. Christopher Walken plays Frank, adding a wry, off-kilter presence to the group. When one of their number is dragged into a dangerous world of organised crime, the comedy sharpens into real peril and the group is forced to unite in unexpected ways. The series runs three seasons and seventeen episodes, with each season built as one continuing story rather than standalone case-of-the-week episodes. Its register is brisk, broadly slapstick and sincerely warm, with crime-thriller stakes underneath the gags. Fans of Community and Snatch will find a similar mix of ensemble chemistry, misfit camaraderie and criminal mischief.

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