The Outlaws

I'm a red blooded American from Missouri and the strangest thing happened to me when I saw the film Shaun of the Dead. I went down the rabbit hole of British TV and movies and came out a better person. Life is doom and gloom in on the telly *as the Brits say* in America 24/7 on a loop and it is exhausting. These kind of shows you can just turn on and have a good time. It doesn't shy away from serious issues, but it takes them on differently than American TV and that is why British TV for the win. If you like British TV you'll like this. If you don't wtf are you watching it for?

This was such a pleasure. Of course, I'd watch anything with Christopher Walken in it, and he's typically fun here too. Amazingly fine acting by all involved. You find yourself caring for each of the characters, even if some seemed "weirdos." Good combination of clever humor and serious social issues, as well as personal drama. Seriously, I can't think of anything wrong with it. Have a ball!

I just finished watching the end of season 2 last night and I can only hope they continue with this show.

The entire cast is brilliant and has wonderful chemistry.

I enjoy the combination of drama and comedy. The stories are interesting and I did feel like I was on the edge of my seat with several scenes, but the comic relief was unexpected and worked perfectly. They also managed (in only six episodes per season at that) to flesh out the characters and their relationships with one another.

Christopher Walken was wonderful here. I enjoyed Stephen Merchant's character as well and was surprised to find out that he actually created the show.

Wrapping this up, I enjoyed The Outlaws immensely. Witty, entertaining and just fun to watch. I hope they'll be more seasons to come.

People have said this show is not very good but perhaps they are looking at it the wrong way.

It's a bit of a throwback of a show to simpler times but that doesn't mean it's any less engaging. It's easy to watch, you don't have to know a lot, the writing great with some excellent and funny banter between cast members and the cast is excellent.

The best thing is that in just a few short episodes, you get involved in the character's lives, even if they are relatively superficial glimpses of people with complex issues. They are minor criminals but in this show, they still warm your heart to some degree. It just works.

Christopher Walken adds a really great dimension to the whole thing. Excellent casting and it was great they were able to get him on board.

I wondered when he was going to start dancing. He was originally a dancer so his movies and parts always includes one or more scenes where that happens. I was not disappointed.

There has to be second series. If there isn't, I'd be surprised.

If Walken doesn't turn up again, be interesting to see David Soul back on the small screen doing a turn.

Having read some other reviews complaining they didn't get as many laughs as they were expecting, I'd like to clarify; The Outlaws is not a sitcom. It is a dramedy or comedy-drama. I think people have seen Merchant's name, thought of The Office and Extras and thus misunderstood the idea behind this series.

Some of the humour is around social disparity, inequality and issues of race and class. That these topics are both explored in the dramatic theme and at times joked about does not make the show "woke" or "PC" as some reviews are suggesting....that's just some people's reaction to anything mentioning these issues in any context and one of the characters is based on the white, middle-class, rage-baited tabloid reader stereotype (though goes on to become more multi-faceted and sympathetic as the story and characters develop), so that's where those reviews are coming from.

The Outlaws delivers a masterful blend of tension, action, emotion and Merchant's signature style of comedy, which tends to be a mix of self-deprecation, irony and social observation. Each of the characters has something to like, something to sympathise, something to dislike and something to laugh about.

As with any series, I'd say always give it at least two episodes before you make your mind up - the pilot is always going to be the weakest link because it has to set everything up which follows.

This one is well worth the patience to pursue.