‘The Offenders’: Christopher Walken, Eleanor Tomlinson & More Join Stephen Merchant/Elgin James Series BBC/Amazon Series
As filming resumes in Bristol on ‘The Offenders‘ (working title) from writer/director Stephen Merchant (‘The Office’) & Elgin James (‘Mayans M.C.’), the production announces the cast for the BBC/Amazon co-production. Academy Award-winning actor Christopher Walken becomes an Offender undertaking community service in his first lead British television role, alongside writer and director Stephen Merchant, with Rhianne Barreto, Gamba Cole, Darren Boyd, Clare Perkins and Eleanor Tomlinson.
‘The Offenders’ follows seven strangers from different walks of life forced together to complete a Community Payback sentence in Bristol. As they become involved in each other’s lives, they also become involved with a dangerous criminal gang. At first, the Offenders seem like archetypes easy to pigeonhole, but gradually we see behind their facades, understand their hidden depths and what made them the people they are today. We are reminded that no one is all good or all bad. Everyone has a story.
The titular “Offenders” include Walken who is set to play Frank, an inveterate scoundrel trying to reconnect with his family, whilst Merchant plays Greg, a lonely lawyer coping with divorce, work-place bullying and scary men with knives. Joining them are Eleanor Tomlinson (‘Poldark’, ‘The War of the Worlds’) as Gabby, an aristocratic celebutante whose glamour and life of leisure masks deep-rooted problems; Rhianne Barreto (‘Honour’, ‘Hanna’) as Rani, a gifted but rebellious math student who has been hot-housed from a young age by her loving but controlling parents; Gamba Cole (‘Soon Gone: A Windrush Chronicle’, ‘Hanna’) as Christian, a young man struggling to raise his kid sister while staying one step ahead of the Brook Hill Crew, a notorious Bristol crime gang; Darren Boyd (‘Killing Eve’, ‘Lucky Man’) as John, a businessman and law-abiding pillar of the community furious at being labelled a criminal; And Clare Perkins (‘EastEnders’) as Myrna, an ageing activist and campaigner who has lost none of her youthful radicalism.
Additional cast includes Jessica Gunning (‘Back’, ‘Pride’) as Diana, the Offenders’ Community Service Supervisor, who supervises with what she deludedly believes is an iron first; Dolly Wells (‘Dracula’, ‘Doll & Em’) as Frank’s daughter, Margaret; Ian McElhinney (‘Game of Thrones’, ‘Derry Girls’) as John’s father, John Snr; Nina Wadia (‘Goodness Gracious Me’, ‘Bend it like Beckham’) as Rani’s mother, Shanthi; Aiyana Goodfellow (‘Small Axe’) as Esme; And Charles Babalola (‘Bancroft’, ‘Silent Witness’) as Malaki.
“Like so many other productions, we’d just begun filming when Covid-19 struck and we had to shut-down,” commented Merchant. “I’m delighted that we’re now finally able to resume filming with this incredible cast and finish this long-standing passion project. This is the first series I’ve made in my hometown of Bristol and I’m so excited to showcase the city and utilise the amazing local talent.”
As the production is taking place during the current Covid-19 pandemic, additional controls are being implemented by Big Talk and Four Eyes in accordance with current government guidelines to ensure that the series is produced in a safe and responsible manner. Production has worked closely with the BBC and Amazon Studios to develop a Covid-19 protocol policy, implementing extensive safety measures and testing to keep the cast, crew and public safe.
The BBC One/Amazon Studios co-production was commissioned by BBC Comedy and BBC One, produced by Big Talk (part of ITV Studios) (‘Mum’, ‘Friday Night Dinner’, ‘Defending the Guilty’) with Stephen Merchant’s Four Eyes. The series is created by Stephen Merchant and Elgin James. Executive Producers are Stephen Merchant for Four Eyes, Luke Alkin Kenton Allen and Matthew Justice for Big Talk, and Kate Daughton is the Commissioning Editor for the BBC.
Stephen Merchant and John Butler (‘Papi Chulo’) direct the series with Nickie Sault (‘The Virtues’, ‘World On Fire’) as producer. The series was commissioned for the BBC by Charlotte Moore, Chief Content Officer; Shane Allen, Controller Comedy Commissioning and Kate Daughton, Head of Comedy.
‘The Offenders‘ (working title) is a 6-episode series and is currently filming in Bristol, UK. It will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK and on Amazon Prime Video in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
