News / television
Stephen Merchant to direct and star in new drama series set in Bristol
Stephen Merchant is set to direct and star in a new drama series set in Bristol that will be co-produced by BBC One and Amazon Studios.
The Offenders will be filmed in Bristol and will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK, and on Amazon Prime Video in the United States, Canada and Australia.
The series will follow seven strangers from different walks of life forced together to complete a Community Payback sentence in Bristol.
is needed now More than ever
As their unlikely new friendships intersect with their complicated private lives, they must unite to protect one of their own from Bristol’s most dangerous criminal gang.
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Merchant said: “The Offenders is a long-standing passion project for me. My parents used to work in the Community Service world and I was always intrigued that the many and varied people they dealt with only had one thing in common: they’d committed a crime.
“Ever since The Office, I’ve loved finding ways to bring unlikely groups of people together and watch the sparks fly.
“As a writer I always include humour, but with The Offenders I also get to add drama, pathos, crime genre thrills and say something optimistic about the common humanity that unites us all, whatever our background.
“The Offenders’ mix of light and shade, dark and comic, middle-class angst with inner-city grit, reflects the unlikely partnership of me and Elgin (James, co-creator).
“I grew up in suburbia, whereas Elgin spent his early life building a national street gang until a police investigation landed him in prison.
“Despite coming from different sides of the tracks, Elgin and I share a love of convincing characters and authentic, engaging, human stories.”
Kate Daughton, head of BBC Comedy, added: “The BBC One audience is in for an absolute treat with Stephen Merchant’s gripping world, rich with heart, humour and stand out characters.
“Among the deftly woven plots, high jinks, unlikely friendships and big belly laughs are very human stories about loyalty, truth and family.”
45-year-old Merchant grew up in Hanham and attended Hanham High School – now called Hanham Woods Academy – in the 1980s.
He studied film and television at Warwick University, where he also hosted a student radio programme, did work experience at Bristol’s former Venue magazine and started performing stand-up comedy in his home city.
He left Bristol to join new London radio station, Xfm, where his boss was Ricky Gervais.
Main photo of Stephen Merchant courtesy of BBC
Read more: The definitive list of films made in Bristol
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