The final episode of The Outlaws aired tonight on BBC One, with Stephen Merchant’s dark comedy wrapping up season one after six gripping episodes.
While the crime drama, which featured a star-studded cast including Christopher Walken and Eleanor Tomlinson, will be gone from the TV schedules for a little while, it will be back for season two at some point, as the BBC renewed The Outlaws for another run earlier on this year.
Teasing tonight’s episode, Merchant took to Twitter to say that the finale would be airing on BBC One, before saying that the whole of season two has already been filmed and will be arriving on our screens at some point in the future.
Episode 6 of The Outlaws is on tonight, @BBCOne, 9pm – with all episodes now available on @BBCiPlayer pic.twitter.com/lDyy35yyDg
— Stephen Merchant (@StephenMerchant) November 29, 2021
Read on for everything we know so far about The Outlaws season two.
Will The Outlaws be back for season 2?
Good news for Stephen Merchant fans – The Outlaws will be back for season two!
The news was announced back in January by Deadline, with the publication reporting that the comedy (which was originally titled The Offenders) had been renewed for a second season before the first had even been filmed.
The show’s executive producer Kenton Allen told Deadline at the time that season two was commissioned on the basis that both seasons one and two would be shot back-to-back, adding: “We used the benefit of having shot on the scripts already to know more about it before we turned over. We were able to rewrite season one to reflect what we know is going to happen to the characters in season two.”
Following the first series finale airing, Merchant himself said: “I am overwhelmed by the wonderful response to The Outlaws. Audiences have fallen in love with the characters as much as I have and my Twitter feed is inundated with people asking for updates on series two, so I’m delighted to confirm the entire gang will return for more adventures. If we made The Outlaws sweat in Series One, we’re really turning the heat up second time round.”
The Outlaws season 2 release date
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The BBC has not yet announced when The Outlaws will be returning for season two, although we do know that the next batch of episodes has already been filmed, with production having concluded in October 2021.
Speaking in a video he shared on Twitter, creator and star Stephen Merchant said: “As they used to say at the end of James Bond films, don’t worry – The Outlaws will return! There is already a series two in the can so you’ll be able to follow the adventures of these characters as things continue in the next series whenever that is on TV, who knows.”
While the first season began airing in October 2021, it’s likely that The Outlaws season two will begin airing at some point in 2022 on BBC One.
The Outlaws season 2 plot
A second season of The Outlaws will pick up from where the dramatic season one finale left off – with the group continuing their community service and the police still trying to get to the bottom of who shot Spider.
While the police seemed to believe that it was Ben (Gamba Cole) who shot Spider, the rest of the community service group managed to convince them that any charges would not stand up in court as there were no fingerprints on the gun and the only people who witnessed it were a racist and Ben’s jilted lover.
An official synopsis for the next batch of episodes reads: “Following on directly from the first series, The Outlaws still have time to serve on their sentences – but now they must face the fallout from their actions. If they thought the criminal underworld or the local police were done with them, they are sorely mistaken. The Outlaws must depend on one another while working with unlikely allies to atone for their sins – but can they save themselves without sacrificing their souls?”
The Outlaws season 2 cast
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The second season of The Outlaws will see the return of Stephen Merchant (Greg), Christopher Walken (Frank), Rhianne Barreto (Rani), Gamba Cole (Christian/Ben), Darren Boyd (John), Clare Perkins (Myrna) and Eleanor Tomlinson (Lady Gabby), who play the seven strangers forced to complete community service together.
Also returning will be Jessica Gunnin, who plays their supervisor Diane, plus Charles Babalola (Malaki), Nina Wadia (Shanthi), Ian McElhinney (John Snr.), Tom Hanson (Spencer), Dolly Wells (Margaret), and Aiyana Goodfellow (Esme).
Guest stars in the new series will include Julia Davis (Sally4Ever), Dolly Wells (Dracula) and Claes Bang (Dracula).
The Outlaws is available to stream on BBC iPlayer. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.