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New Stephen Merchant comedy The Outlaws gets rave reviews

Photo credit: BBC
Photo credit: BBC

Tonight (October 25) was the premiere of new BBC One comedy thriller The Outlaws, and it got rave reviews from some viewers in particular: Bristolians.

The six-part series from The Office's Stephen Merchant is about seven strangers serving community payback sentences renovating a building in Bristol.

Photo credit: BBC
Photo credit: BBC

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The ensemble cast includes Merchant himself, Poldark's Eleanor Tomlinson, Killing Eve's Darren Boyd, EastEnders' Clare Perkins and the one and only Christopher Walken.

Gamba Cole (His House, Hanna), Rhianne Barreto (Hanna, Honour), Jessica Gunning (Back, Inside No. 9), Nina Wadia (Strictly Come Dancing, Aladdin) and Richard E Grant (Loki, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) also star.

Photo credit: BBC
Photo credit: BBC

The highest praise towards the show came from Bristolians, excited to see a new series filmed around their home city.

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Of course, those not from Bristol also praised the comedy, calling it "funny" and raving about the casting of Christopher Walken.

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Some, however, weren't as impressed, with one person calling the show "not really funny" and "full of clichés".

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Speaking to Digital Spy about Christopher Walken's casting as "petty thief" Greg, Merchant said: "I like the idea of this man who fell to earth, this kind of almost alien presence in Bristol.

"We're in this provincial world and then in comes this charismatic figure like he's just fallen to earth but ultimately, he's just another petty thief like everybody else."

Photo credit: BBC
Photo credit: BBC

Merchant also remembered telling Walken about the filming location: "He said to me, 'What's Bristol like?' And I'm not even joking, I said: 'It's kind of like San Francisco. It has a big bridge, and it's really hilly, and kind of arty.'"

"In the end, I liked him and he seemed to like me," he continued. "We got on well, and sure enough, he turned up in Bristol."

The Outlaws airs on BBC One.

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