Stephen Merchant: An Outlaw After My Own Heart

So, there's been a ton of talk of Stephen Merchant's series "The Outlaws." Co-created with Christopher Walken (who recently became a fan of Stephen's after working with him on set) it's basically about surprisingly normal "criminals" completing community service. Once you hear "I Fought the Law (and the Law One)" in the trailer, you know you'll be in for a crazy ride. I knew I was!

Now, I must say I'm a pretty big fan of Stephen. Despite (or perhaps because of) the fact he's not the typical Hollywood stud, with his lanky frame, beady eyes, and nerdy demeanor, I find this guy absolutely irresistible. (Okay, I have really unconventional taste in men, but that's another story.) Despite his adorkable charm and considerable talent, he's not well-known outside of Ricky Gervais' shows, and even his ventures outside of Ricky tend to be supporting roles as best, Fighting With My Family notwithstanding. So, seeing him at the front-and-center of such a big project is really interesting.

The series itself starts out with a deceptively "innocent" young woman going shopping at the mall, buying glamorous paraphrennilia just like any other teenage girl. But then, a security guard asks to see inside her purse, and that's when the action starts. She takes off running, and he chases after her to see that, yes, she has stolen the purse she "bought." Needless to say, her parents are not pleased when they find out.

As for Stephen himself, he plays Greg, a socially awkward lawyer with bad luck who's forced to do community service with Frank, a downtrodden old man living with his kids and grandkids played by Christopher Walken, his daughter, a kleptomaniac born into academia, a "ghetto" kid, and an Instagram celebrity. (We even get a tour of these characters in the first episode, complete with Stephen being called "I don't know who the hell that is." With the exception of the Instagram celebrity, They're all surprisingly normal people- well, as normal as offenders from various walks of life can possibly be anyway- trying to pay back their debt to society by doing work for others.

Stephen's been known to have a very cheeky, slightly off-colour sense of humour, and it shows in the show. His very first lines are "My name is Greg and I'm 6'7". That's not in proportion though- in proportion, I'm 8'3!" (One of Stephen's trademark jokes is poking fun at his trademark gigantic height.) Not to mention, when he's doing community service, he can't help but make a little dance while doing so, even when he secretly knows he's dying inside for whatever reason. (Yes, seriously. Don't believe me? Watch it for yourself. It's adorable.) Of course, Walken himself is no slouch when it comes to stealing the show. His sense of humour wouldn't look too out of place coming from your typical father- if said father was a ex-con who got into various tangles with the law.

At the core of the show, however, is a surprising heart. For all their faults, grievances, and hardships, the people involved do care dearly for each other. Yes, even Frank. Especially Frank. Need proof? When his own grandson is feeling insecure about having a party because he doesn't feel "cool" enough to do so, he takes him aside and reassures him about how amazing he is. It makes you wonder how the hell this guy ever got into the criminal business.

In between raking leaves and hauling manure, the characters have interesting conversations about their lives, especially about the infamous COVID-19 lockdown. The show's production was put on hold because of it, so I guess this is something we're just gonna have to put up with, I guess? Lots of shows tend to pay reference to it nowadays.

All in all, The Outlaws is a great show documenting how something as simple as community service can deeply impact people's lives. If you're interested in streaming, you can get it on BBC Player, or if you're unlucky enough to be stuck in the States like I am, you can always go el cheapo and watch it on Dailymotion. Either way, it's hilariously brilliant. Thank you, Stephen, for being the outlaw after my heart that I truly needed. You really are amazing.

4 out of 5 stars.