David Mitchell brings Outsiders back to Dave
- Outsiders is returning for a second series on Dave, with David Mitchell once again hosting
- Six more episodes have been ordered, with Jessica Hynes, Phil Wang, Joe Wilkinson, Maisie Adam, Fatiha El-Ghorri and Darren Harriott participating
- "I can't wait to really get stuck in to the routine of going home to a comfortable bed every evening, leaving a bunch of comedians to fend for themselves in the mud and scratch some sort of civilisation out of the dust" said Mitchell
David Mitchell is returning with a second series of Outsiders on Dave, British Comedy Guide can exclusively reveal.
The Upstart Crow star will once again host the outdoor survival-based panel show, with Jessica Hynes, Phil Wang, Joe Wilkinson, Maisie Adam, Fatiha El-Ghorri and Darren Harriott the comedians competing over the six hour-long episodes.
Filming soon, to air later this year, challenges the comedians are set to face include cutting a stranger's hair.
Outsiders attracted 776,000 viewers for its opening episode and was Dave's third biggest original series of 2021, nodding to the Covid-19 pandemic with its advocacy of fresh air and self-reliance.
"I'm so glad that Outsiders is coming back and I can't wait to really get stuck in to the routine of going home to a comfortable bed every evening, leaving a bunch of comedians to fend for themselves in the mud and scratch some sort of civilisation out of the dust" said Mitchell.
Kerry Godliman and Toussaint Douglass, Ed Gamble and Lou Sanders and Jessica Knappett and Jamali Maddix were the original three pairings on the show. It is co-produced by Renegade Pictures (Because You Watched), who also make adventurer Ben Fogle's long-running New Lives In The Wild documentaries, and That Mitchell & Webb Company (Back, Ambassadors).
Executive produced by Harry Lansdown, Victoria Payne and Leon Wilde, Outsiders was commissioned for UKTV by Hilary Rosen, deputy director of commissioning, and Mark Iddon, commissioning editor, and ordered for Dave by Cherie Cunningham, Dave channel director.
"We loved making Season 1 with David and his gang of comics and very excited to do it all again with a fresh batch of recruits" said Iddon. "Let's see what the great British outdoors (and David) can throw at them this time."
Lansdown added: "I'm delighted to be returning to the woods with such a talented gang of comedians to see if they can build back better without the normal trappings of modern civilisation!"
Writing about the first series of Outsiders, The Guardian praised its fireside chats segment, which it called "lovely, warm and relaxed, and loose enough to let each comedian come to the fore", while being one of several publications to receive the show positively and yet still slight it by comparison to its hugely popular Dave channel forerunner, Taskmaster.
"Overall, [it] looks like a success for Dave" wrote television critic Stuart Heritage. "In Outsiders, it has created a show entertaining enough to replace Taskmaster, but not quite good enough for Channel 4 to poach."
Meanwhile, Mitchell and Gemma Whelan are returning to London's West End with the Upstart Crow stage show later this year, after its original 2020 run was halted because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Olivier Award-nominated production re-opens at The Apollo Theatre in London on September 23rd.