User reviews

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!

Who doesn't love a group of misfits that are not really badies but a little bit naughty.

I like the Breakfast Club but for adults feel and wow, Christopher Walken rocks up. I was sold!

The Outlaws is a programme about a group of people who have been sent to take part in community service for their wrong doings. You have a typical set of different characters from varied backgrounds. We see each story unfold under the over arching message that if friends stick together, they can get through anything. No matter our differences as people.

That's always a nice thing to be reminded of isn't it?

Especially at this time in the world.

Merchants skills for making an all round great production really shine here. A great mix of comedy and thriller with the writing and performances managing to not get too cringe, when at times it could have. Though also not airing on the side of fluffy either.

Funny yet a little gritty to keep you hooked. This is a really good show and look forward to series two.

Awesome writing, well performed and a new fav actress in Jess Gunning.

Why is this so underrated? It has great humor, drama, acting and storyline. Unique. Love it. I was expecting a typical British comedy, but got so much more.

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.

Some reviewers here think a comedy drama is supposed to have funny lines ever 30 seconds. Thankfully it didn't I could have done without a canned laughter track. It's the situations that are comedic not so much the lines.

The casting is brilliant. Especially Christopher Walken who is one of the best bits in it. Perhaps in the hope of selling it to the Yanks, not sure they will get the humor. I didn't recognise Eleanor Tomlinson at first and. Jessica Gunning from Law and Order UK was brilliant as the frustrated wannabe police officer.

Loved it, I understand series 2 is already in the can. I wonder if it will just carry on from where this one ends or is there a new set of 'bad guys'.

Whatever, I am looking forward to it.

I know that a series is really good when I feel sad that the last episode has ended. The characters have endeared themselves into my home and my heart. A very well done Brit comedy/drama/suspense with great writing and acting. Fun premise as well.

This is a very pleasant show, it is a good change to all the hardcore action, sex and drama on modern TV.

If you need to give your brain a holiday and let a show just be easy watch this, occasionally very funny.

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.

A novel comedy from Stephen Merchant in which a group of seven very different strangers complete community service together in Bristol.

It's not a pure comedy, it's a mix of comedy and drama. However, it has a good plot with some excellent characters. Christopher Walken is brilliant, Stephen Merchant is very funny, and the rest of the cast do a good job.

I just watched Season 2.

The story continues where it left off but this is not as good as Season 1. It lacks the novelty of the first season.

I was bored in parts although it gets better as it goes. Episodes can trundle along with rare moments of excitement. It's not really a comedy, it's a drama with some funny (rarely laugh out loud) moments.

A mixed cast, varying in quality but Merchant and Walken still stand out. Across both Seasons I'd give it a 7* but I wouldn't want to watch it again. It's not that great.

The 1st ep might be a bit on the slow side while setting up what's in store with the following eps.

Steven unselfishly doesn't make himself the hero or even the main character. He dips in and out adding comic relief and giving all the actors a decent back story. He doesn't even give himself the best comedic scenes as there is plenty other light relief from some of the other actors from a fairly complex and dark story line and keeps you guessing till the end.

The adding of the absolute icon of Christopher Walken is class.

A defo binge worthy series.

If you don't like this then you need to take a look in the mirror and question your life choices.

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.

Marketed as a comedy which is pretty unusual for a 60m serial. In reality it fell somewhere between drama and comedy without ticking either box convincingly. For me the world and characters didn't ring true enough for a drama and there was no real jeopardy in the dramatic story.

On the comic side there were a lot of so-so gags, but no real comic connections between the characters, many of whom were one-dimensional, Eleanor Tomlinson's Instagrammer, Darren Boyd's right wing businessman etc. Direction was flat and the pace of it too slow. Christopher Walken was wasted and needed to be much more upfront.

Might have worked better as a six episode half hour comedy with a sharper script. Well-intentioned but a bit disappointing.

Now the UK gets to enjoy him also.

I have always loved Stephen Merchant.

Funny show with a bungled criminal escapade, led by Walken, of course, His one liners (not only in this role) never fail to crack me up, especially, when you nearly miss them, and go back to catch them again.

I never miss anything by Merchant or Gervais, and have not been disappointed!

Unexpectedly a great show! Perfect cast, well developed characters and a nice plot with quite a few funny twists happening. Actually the storylines aren't the most important here, it's about people and how their such a different lives crossing with each other.

That's one of few shows I am really waiting for a new episodes to be released each week. Naive, lil bit childish and optimistic, feels we have been missing this for a while.

After the first episode I wasn't sure, but this turned into a real gem. Funny, heartwarming and a love letter to Bristol. By the last episode I was smiling and throughly enjoyed this.

I hate my accent and generally I don't enjoy hearing it on the TV or Radio. This could be that it is either put on by a non local actor, over exaggerated or automatically makes you think of Aardman's Creature Comforts.

However, I love this program as most of the accents are pretty true and not over exaggerated.

The mix of humor, sentiment and action is great and IMO will give the series longevity.

The acting is very good especially from all the main characters. It is almost surreal seeing Hollywood A lister Christopher Walken as a passenger on a bus going through a Bristol housing estate rather than in the back of a chauffer driven gangsters limo in LA.

The views around Bristol are great to see, the camerawork is cinematic.

Looking forward to seeing the rest of this series and hopefully several more series to follow (series 2 is being filmed now).

Season 1 was good entertainment and great character development. The show chose amazing actors and everyone had great chemistry. I was worried for season 2 (as most shows drop off after the first season), but holy...it was way better than season 1. The writers did an amazing job and every character in the show had a purpose that progressed the plot and not many shows are able to pull that off with that many characters.

Very enjoyable, easy-to-watch comedy.

Typical Stephen Merchant, witty and pleasant but at the same time quite deep with some serious thought-provoking stuff in the melting pot.

Excellent cast, and interesting, moreish characters. All very different - which is kind of the point.

Sucks you in, you want to follow everyone's story.

No weak links here. Looking forward to watching the rest.

I love Stephen merchant and this show is very watchable, it ticks a lot of boxes, but it has flaws. The main thing that stands out to me is the dialogue, especially that of political dialogue. It's so on the nose and heavy, it's so forced between the characters when they talk about left wing vs right wing politics. This is especially bad when you have the 'gang' in their blacked out car talking about it. If this was an outright comedy it wouldn't be as bad but it's supposed to have a sense of realism, therefor the dialogue between the younger characters should feel more natural. It's very clear Stephen Merchant is writing what he thinks young people sound like/speak about. Apart from this the visual direction is great and the overall storyline is enjoyable.

Superbly written drama that manages to balance a story with surprisingly dark tones, with real heart and also a lot of comedy coming from the really well developed and diverse characters, who also surprise with their depth. A lot of programmes try to balance real drama and comedy, rarely achieved this well.

So pleased they are doing a second series, as open threads outstanding.

The Producers/Director, Writers and Cast deserve kudos - really enjoyed, never quite sure how it would pan out, which is a good thing to be sure...

The timings for some of the jokes are not quite right which takes away the humour but there us enough in it to want to watch some more. Good mix of characters. Stephen Merchant and. Darren Boyd were spot on . The two leads were a bit cheesy and too obvious a 'pair' but the intro of. Chris Walken was funny. His grandkids have no illusions about their Grandad.

Will watch some more.

Except for Rani and Christian, all the characters are both humorous and compelling. The narrative involving Rani and Christian veers into the nonsensical, detracting from the overall experience. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline that unites the team. Removing Rani and Christian would enhance the story, as their love story lacks engagement and they come across as mere side characters. This series is underrated and deserves more recognition. It is genuinely funny, and the actors deliver professional and memorable performances. Each character faces their own challenges and, while trying to solve each other's problems, often make situations even more complex. This intricate interplay adds depth and humor, making the series a delightful watch.