Acclaimed television writers and producers Stephen Merchant (The Office) and Elgin James (Mayans M.C.) have teamed up to create the new Prime Video comedy series The Outlaws. Following a group of people sentenced to perform community service in the British city of Bristol, the show has the group stumble across a bag of money that leads them to be targeted by a deadly local gang. Among this ragtag motley crew are teenagers Rani and Christian, portrayed by Rhianne Barreto and Gamba Cole, respectively.
In an exclusive interview with CBR, Barreto and Cole spoke about balancing the laughs and the crime story action in The Outlaws and the opportunity to work directly with Merchant as their co-star, writer, director, and producer on the project.
CBR: Stephen Merchant has done so much for television on both sides of the Atlantic. How was it having him not only as a co-star but also a director on The Outlaws?
Gamba Cole: For me, it was an honor. He’s somebody that I have watched for years before I was even an actor, so the fact that we’re on set together and able to go to him and ask questions and speak to him… He’s such a down-to-Earth character, so chilled and very funny, obviously. For me personally, it wasn’t just what was happening on set but also outside of that. He’d make sure he’d call and FaceTime me and we’d go over lines and speak about the journey of the character of Christian. He would give me some insight and help me with my decision-making on set. It was an absolute joy.
Rhianne Barreto: I feel the exact same. It was such a journey and an adventure to have with him. For him to be at the helm, as a producer as well as all of those [other] things, was interesting. It was great because you could be on set with him for a scene and you’d be like, “Can we change our lines?” and he’d be like, “Oh, yeah!” [laughs] He wouldn’t [say] that we’d have to email someone to approve it. He was so collaborative, especially because he’s writing characters that aren’t him — young brown women and young Black men. He was so considerate and open to us being like, “We wouldn’t say that” or “That’s not how that would necessarily happen.” He would always be egoless and tell us, “Show me how you think this would work, and let’s incorporate that.” He was a true collaborator.
Rani and Christian really carry the lion’s share of the action and remind the audience of the stakes. How was it doing all these chases and fights while also maintaining the balance of The Outlaws being a comedy?
Cole: For me, it was so fun. I love doing any action sequences — chases, fight scenes — all of that stuff I live for. It was amazing to even have that. I remember reading the script before I was even given the role, and I was like, “I have to be in this!” because there’s just so much color in the script. It improved my technique as an actor as well. You’re looking at the whole series, you’re not shooting in sequence, sometimes you’re going to be shooting Episode 6 before something in Episode 1. It helped with the technical things as well, just making sure you’re giving off that balance without telling too much of the story before it actually happens.
Barreto: With stuff like that, I as an actor can’t really think about the genre always. I know there’s tricks to comedy, like pace and timing, and I learned that from Stephen. Especially with my character, I’m the way that the audience comes into the world. I focused on it being truthful and hopefully, everything fell into place. If I was thinking about being funny too much, it wouldn’t be good, so I just tried to play the truth. [laughs]
Created by Stephen Merchant and Elgin James, The Outlaws is available to stream now on Prime Video.
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