It’s easy to forget Stephen Merchant. Everyone knows that Ricky Gervais created The Office, both the original, British version, and the massively popular American version, which now has found a renewed popularity in a post-pandemic world. But most people don’t realize that Gervais partnered with Merchant to create The Office, and as much of its brilliance is due to Merchant as it is to Gervais. Much of the credit to Gervais has possibly come to the fact that Gervais has continued to be so visible in his post-Office career, while Merchant has struggled to make an impact anywhere close to The Office since. That’s not to say he hasn’t been quietly delivering solid work, from his under-appreciated HBO series Hello Ladies (2013) to being a producer of the massively popular Lip Sync Battle TV show, to producing the great little indie movie Fighting with My Family (2019), but nothing nearly as notable as hosting the Golden Globes or breaking the World Record for Stand-Up. 
Well, Merchant may not be as flashy and in-your-face as Gervais continues to be, but he may finally be getting the appreciation he deserves with his latest series, The Outlaws, whose third season dropped this past May on Prime Video.
The Outlaws is the best new show on television you’ve never heard of. It’s a comedy/drama, co-created, co-written, co-produced and starring Merchant about a group of citizens of Bristol, England who are fulfilling community service. Each one has committed a petty crime, from shoplifting to drug possession, and they run the gamut of society, from a middle-aged businessman to a rebellious student to an influencer to a professional protestor and everything in between. Of course, you would expect the story to follow the usual cliché: people from different walks of life, forced together, realize they have more in common than they don’t and become friends, blah blah blah. Well, yes, that does happen, but so does so much more. They all start as petty criminals, but collectively get into MUCH bigger trouble, and it’s a lot of fun to see them struggle with and navigate the world of crime, while getting to know them and becoming invested in their lives and stories.
But the real joys of The Outlaws are the acting, the tonal shifts and the brilliant writing. The show is massively funny, thanks to Merchant’s masterfully dry, sarcastic, Office-like wit, and yet it has a truly dark side, which is due to the show’s co-creator and co-writer, Elgin James, who created and wrote the dark biker gang drama Mayans M.C. Merging Merchant’s sweet, naïve and dorky style with James’ dark and criminally foreboding narrative edge brings a vibrant energy to The Outlaws that blurs genre and obliterates categorization—and cliche.
But, even though it is dark and certainly has some very serious themes, The Outlaws is more a comedy than it is a drama. And that is where is truly shines. Merchant’s writing is the real star and the ensemble cast makes the most of it at every turn.
Oh, did I mention Christopher Walken?
Yes, acting legend Christopher Walken is in the ensemble of The Outlaws, just one of the gang, and he is just as good here as he is in Severance, proving the Walken-aissance is full steam ahead. But, really, everyone is great here, and deserves to be named: Rhianne Barreto, Darren Boyd, Gamba Cole, Clare Perkins, Eleanor Tomlinson, and Jessica Gunning, fresh off her star-making turn in Baby Reindeer. Gunning is having her moment, and deserves every second of it.
There are three seasons, six episodes each, currently available on Prime Video. There have been no announcements as to whether there will be a fourth season or not, but here’s hoping. Either way, please enjoy what we’ve got, as pleasures like The Outlaws are few and far between.