{"id":52562,"date":"2024-06-03T18:50:19","date_gmt":"2024-06-03T16:50:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=2050186"},"modified":"2024-06-03T22:40:15","modified_gmt":"2024-06-03T20:40:15","slug":"the-outlaws-season-3-provides-redemption-for-rani-and-the-show-itself","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/the-outlaws-season-3-provides-redemption-for-rani-and-the-show-itself\/","title":{"rendered":"The Outlaws season 3 provides redemption for Rani \u2013 and the show itself"},"content":{"rendered":"

Both were sorely needed after a disappointing second outing. <\/p>

By David Craig\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 03 June 2024 at 16:50 PM<\/p>

\n\n

Warning: Contains major spoilers for The Outlaws season 3.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When The Outlaws first premiered in 2021, it marked a triumphant return to television for Stephen Merchant. The influential writer hadn\u2019t spearheaded a scripted project for the small screen since HBO\u2019s short-lived Hello Ladies eight years earlier, with much of the intervening period spent developing this ensemble community service comedy.<\/p>\n

The first season was a delight, introducing a roster of characters that were archetypal on the surface, but containing hidden depths that were explored deftly by Merchant\u2019s witty, fast-paced scripts. I, for one, was thrilled that the show had received an early renewal during its COVID-induced filming hiatus, but this later proved not to be the gift that was expected.<\/p>\n

While it certainly has its advocates, I found that The Outlaws season 2 represented a steep decline in quality from the high bar set by the first \u2013 and I have a theory as to why. As discussed in an interview with RadioTimes.com<\/a>, Stephen Merchant<\/a> began developing the show with Mayans MC co-creator Elgin James in 2016, several years before cameras started rolling.<\/p>\n

Although the show evolved substantially after James stepped back \u2013 most notably, moving the setting from the US to the UK \u2013 this long period of writing and fine-tuning is obvious in the sharp gags and intricate plotting. In stark contrast, the second season of The Outlaws<\/a> was a surprise order born out of the utterly unforeseen circumstances of a global pandemic.<\/p>

It was a matter of months, rather than years, in which the scripts for season 2 were delivered, and I would argue that you can feel that in the execution. The jokes miss more than they hit, the plot devolved into a perplexing mess and one formerly well-liked character was rendered persona non grata by an arc that didn\u2019t feel entirely fitting or believable.<\/p>\n

Merchant himself acknowledged the challenge, telling us: \u201cNormally what happens is\u2026 you\u2019d see which characters are appealing to the audience, and you\u2019d start to be governed a bit more by the reaction [to] the first series into the second. But we didn\u2019t have that opportunity because we were writing it before anything had been shown; we just had to go with instinct, really.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lending further credence to my theory is that The Outlaws season 3, streaming now on BBC iPlayer and airing Thursdays on BBC One, is a return to form perhaps made possible by more time spent in planning. I understand that a two-year break between seasons isn\u2019t always desirable \u2013 for fan enjoyment or for brand awareness \u2013 but I\u2019ll keep backing it if it reaps results like this.<\/p>\n

The Outlaws season 3 is a shorter, more focused story that returns to the tone of the original pitch. That is, rather than making the active choice to become criminals \u2013 as they did in the second outing\u2019s misjudged drug dealing plot, which bit off more moral dilemmas than it could chew \u2013 the Bristol crew is back to simply responding to the cards they\u2019re dealt.<\/p>\n

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