5 Years Later, Christopher Walken's 3-Part Crime Thriller Is Already Considered a Classic

The Outlaws is a unique streaming original because it has maintained its popularity over time. Crime dramas with large budgets do not always have great characters; however, The Outlaws created characters that audiences want to keep in their lives long after watching them on their screens.

In many ways, Stephen Merchant and Elgin James’ three-season show is a modern classic because of its character development. At first glance, the premise is simple: a group of seven strangers sentenced to community service finds a bag containing stolen money belonging to some very dangerous criminals and is suddenly thrust into a world they were never trained to operate in. However, as the show progressed, The Outlaws became an amalgam of multiple genres. At times, it is a crime drama; at other times, it is a workplace comedy, a familial drama, and a character study, all mixed together into an extremely cohesive product.

‘The Outlaws’ Turns a Simple Premise Into an Addictive Crime Story

Crime stories built around ordinary people usually follow the same trajectory, in which one bad decision leads to another until everything spirals out of control. The Outlaws certainly embraces that formula, but it also understands why those stories work in the first place. Every terrible choice feels believable because every character has something tangible to lose.

The group’s members couldn’t be more different. There’s an ambitious student buckling under impossible expectations, a struggling businessman, a social media celebrity desperate for genuine connection, a lawyer trying to rebuild his life after divorce, an outspoken activist, a young man protecting his family, and an aging former con artist whose best days seem long behind him. They’re introduced as stereotypes almost on purpose before the series slowly dismantles every first impression.

That approach gives The Outlaws one of television’s strongest ensemble dynamics. Early disagreements fueled by politics, class, age, and personality eventually evolve into reluctant trust, then genuine friendship. Watching those relationships grow becomes just as compelling as the increasingly dangerous criminal conspiracy surrounding them.

Christopher Walken Anchors One of TV’s Best Ensemble Casts

Christopher Walken’s casting initially feels like a novelty. An unmistakably American screen icon leading a distinctly British ensemble isn’t an obvious fit. Within an episode or two, though, it’s hard to imagine anyone else playing Frank Sheldon. While many would dismiss Frank as merely a collection of stereotypical Christopher Walkenisms, he ultimately becomes the emotional core of the series. Frank is a former con man attempting to reconnect with the family he has disappointed for years; Walken properly allows both sides of this man to coexist, thereby creating comedic moments one second and quietly sad moments the next.

Of course, this is not the only noteworthy performance. Merchant, as Greg, creates an anxious sincerity that makes all his awkward interactions successful. As Rani, Rhianne Barreto gives one of the most distinctive performances on the show as she progresses from a sheltered high-achiever to someone increasingly comfortable with moral ambiguity, making her character development one of the most gratifying aspects of The Outlaws (and one of its best arcs). Jessica Gunning also steals nearly every scene she is in as Diane, as her strict adherence to procedure slowly allows for her admirable warmth.

The beauty of the ensemble is that nobody exists simply to support someone else’s storyline. Every character receives meaningful development, and every relationship changes over the course of the series. By the end, these people genuinely feel like they’ve survived something together.

Five Years Later, ‘The Outlaws’ Still Feels Unlike Any Other Crime Series

It’s tempting to compare The Outlaws to Guy Ritchie’s crime stories because both thrive on colorful characters, criminal mishaps, and sharp dialogue. The comparison only goes so far. Where Ritchie’s work often embraces stylish excess, The Outlaws stays grounded in ordinary lives. The people at its center aren’t career criminals looking for their next score. They’re flawed people making increasingly desperate decisions after one mistake snowballs into another.

The Outlaws is built on empathy. The series rarely asks its audience to judge its characters as harshly as they judge themselves. Instead, it looks at how fear, loyalty, shame, and desperation can force fundamentally decent people into impossible situations. Five years after its debut, the combination of warmth, humor, and tightly structured suspense still feels like a rare breed. While there is no shortage of streaming platforms offering crime dramas full of violence or prestige television with antiheroes, The Outlaws is totally different; it shows that the greatest crime stories aren't really about the crime at all, but about the people who have to deal with what comes after.