Outsiders: Beloved comedy series starring David Mitchell shelved as he becomes 'pretty busy' following Ludwig success
A popular series fronted by comedy actor David Mitchell has been shelved after three series after he revealed he was “too busy” to continue.
Outsiders was broadcast on Dave and followed Mitchell as he led a group of comedians through a post-apocalyptic scenario where they were forced to fend for themselves in the great outdoors for seven days. Comedians who took part in the series included Phil Wang, Ed Gamble, and Judi Love among many others.
The series aired between 2021 and 2023 and became beloved by loyal viewers, some of whom compared the show’s charm to that of huge hit Taskmaster. One impressed viewer said on IMDB: “The challenges are funny and the campfire banter is just as good as most of the comedians’ stand up shows!”
However, despite the show being enjoyed by viewers, it seems that we are unlikely to see it back on our screens. Hilary Rosen, director of commissioning at UKTV, said at Edinburgh TV Festival: "It is not currently returning, and we have announced that. Would we look at that show again in the future? Maybe. Not currently. [David] loved doing it. We loved working with him.
"We definitely would be interested in other ideas with David Mitchell – we have a fantastic relationship with him."
Rosen added that Mitchell has become “pretty busy” following recent success for the actor, with the UKTV boss saying that the star was a “difficult man to get a lunch appointment with”.
Mitchell has achieved recent success with the BBC comedy-drama series Ludwig, which was a massive hit with critics and viewers when it premiered last autumn. Ludwig followed Micthell’s main character John Taylor, a crossword writer who writes under the penname ‘Ludwig’.
When his twin brother James Taylor, a detective chief inspector at Cambridge Police Authority, goes missing, he and his brother’s wife Lucy Betts-Taylor (Anna Maxwell-Martin) hatch a plan to have him uncover the mystery. He poses as his twin as part of the investigation and infiltrates the police force, being pulled into solving other crime cases.
The show recorded almost 10 million views in the first month of airing, with strong word-of-mouth reviews raising Ludwig’s profile. The BBC also revealed that Ludwig was the broadcaster’s biggest comedy launch since 2018 and was one of the biggest scripted show launches of the year.
In a shock to no one, the BBC quickly renewed the series for a second installment. Mitchell said: “I’m delighted that John ‘Ludwig’ Taylor has failed to escape the clutches of the Cambridge police and will have to continue to face up to the city’s alarming conundrum-based crime wave.”