Will there be The Outlaws season 4? Latest news and updates

That's a big ask indeed, as the group only narrowly escaped the grasp of drug dealer The Dean (Claes Bang) in season 2, and Rani broke the heart of kind-hearted Ben (Gamba Cole) soon after.

The five-episode season has been called a return to form for the comedy-drama, but will there be more to come? Read on for everything we know so far about the future of The Outlaws. Warning: spoilers for season 3!

Will there be The Outlaws season 4?

There's no confirmation yet on whether The Outlaws will return for season 4.

As the third chapter debuted on BBC One and iPlayer, creator Stephen Merchant told press "never say never" to the prospect of more, but that this latest instalment had been written to serve as a possible farewell.

The decision to renew or cancel will likely rest on two factors: Merchant's own creative itch, which is reportedly sending him back to stand-up, and how many viewers The Outlaws season 3 can accumulate in its first few months of availability.

We'll update this page with more information as it comes in.

Who could star in a potential The Outlaws season 4?

If The Outlaws were to return for another season, it's possible that the cast of the first three instalments could reprise their roles, with creator Stephen Merchant telling press that he's enjoyed evolving his original set of characters.

However, he has also divulged that the initial plan for The Outlaws was to shift focus to a new group of community service workers every two seasons, so an alternative route forward could be to finally enact this delayed plan.

For now, we can only speculate as the future of the series remains uncertain, but here's an overview of the key players from The Outlaws cast that could conceivably reprise their roles:

• Rhianne Barreto plays Rani
• Gamba Cole plays Ben
• Stephen Merchant plays Greg
• Eleanor Tomlinson plays Lady Gabby
• Darren Boyd plays John
• Clare Perkins plays Myrna
• Jessica Gunning plays Diane
• Charles Babalola plays Christian
• Claes Bang plays The Dean

What could happen in a potential The Outlaws season 4?

That would very much depend on whether the writers choose to return to the existing characters or shift focus to an all-new intake.

Merchant has said that The Outlaws season 3 was written so it could – but not necessarily will – be the final instalment in the series, with many of our characters finding happy endings and/or closure for past issues.

Rani and Ben went their separate ways in peace, John found a path to forgiving his cold father, Myrna embarked on an exciting new relationship with her old flame, Sean, while Greg and Gabby chose to co-parent a baby together.

It would seem a shame to ruin these joyful scenarios with another criminal predicament, while Merchant admitted one of the hardest parts of writing season 3 was figuring out how to bring the disparate characters back together.

That's why our preference would be for The Outlaws season 4 to introduce an all-new group, if it goes ahead, with maybe Jessica Gunning's Diane and Harry Trevaldwyn's Stan sticking around for more hysterical banter.

Is there a trailer for a potential The Outlaws season 4?

Alas, there's no new footage to share right now, but we'll update this page if anything drops.

The Outlaws seasons 1-3 are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

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