SPRINGLEAF launches Tuesday 21st November 2023 - subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Pat Springleaf is in quite the bind. He’s an ex con man turned undercover cop in the middle of the biggest case of his career - the gang are getting suspicious, his wife wants a divorce, the police are demanding results and his ex girlfriend/ex partner in crime is blackmailing him. Not an ideal situation for someone with a burning need to please absolutely everybody. A new sort-of-true crime comedy series from James Acaster (Off Menu, Repertoire, Ghostbusters), featuring Bill Bailey, Chloe Petts, Domhnall Gleeson, Evelyn Mok, Finn Wolfhard, Freya Parker, Hugh Dennis, Jack De'ath, Jason Forbes, Jo Brand, Kath Hughes, Kemah Bob, Louis Theroux, Mark Silcox, Michael McKean, Mike Wozniak, Miles Jupp, Milton Jones, Natalie Cassidy, Nathaniel Metcalfe, Nish Kumar, Pat Cahill, Phil Dunning, Phil Wang, Sarah Millican, Sharon D Clarke and Sindhu Vee, with guests Ed Gamble, Romesh Ranganathan, Tom Alle
In episode 1, Lawrence announces a side-step from drug dealing into a more glamorous branch of crime, Pat's wife Sita (Sindhu Vee) makes some life changing personal and career decisions and Pat takes the advice of fellow comic Evelyn Mok to find a better, more truthful, on-stage comic persona.
Studio guest Romesh Ranganathan attempts to get a grip on exactly what the podcast is, Sita bags Serpico his first acting role and Pat's crowd-work skills are tested to their limit when Donna encourages Lawrence and Huey to try out their new heist personas in public…
Pat is booked as a guest for Tom Allen's new panel show, and Donna persuades the SW6 gang to carry out a practice heist at the studio in preparation for their big casino job - bad news for fellow panellists Jo Brand and Sarah Millican. Meanwhile, 'Sita's Creatures' animal acting agency goes from strength to strength as Serpico cements his reputation as the country's leading Merdog, before making waves elsewhere on set.
With SW5 member (and fellow undercover cop) Clarke tied up in the backroom of SW6 HQ, Pat needs to come up with a rescue plan, stat. But when he leaks Clarke's whereabouts to SW5 gang leader Janet (Natalie Cassidy), existing tensions between the two gangs begin to escalate. Meanwhile, on the comedy circuit, there's another terrible crime to deal with - a blatant case of material theft...
Lawrence and Janet jostle for position in the newly formed SW11 gang, whilst things look increasingly dicey for Clarke after he's outed as an undercover cop. Desperately in search of a rescue plan, Pat is struck by inspiration whilst filming a TV prank show.
Having survived his unfortunate interaction with Huey's shotgun, Clarke goes into hiding, while Angela faces the consequences of her unauthorised stint undercover. Pat, Evelyn and Sita wait for an update on the future of their prank show and, over at SW11 HQ, Lawrence and Janet continue to clash as the Leader-Off enters the final stages...
Joe Lycett is in the studio with Pat and Adams this week, and it gets quite messy quite quickly. With Janet newly installed as leader of the SW11 gang, the criminals pivot from drug dealing to phone scams and Donna discovers a hidden talent for the artform. Clarke unexpectedly turns up in a new role at the police station, leaving Nish feeling abandoned and alone in his fuggy hillock house. Meanwhile Lawrence is not taking his defeat in the Leader-Off well, and decides that revenge - like pizza - is a dish best served delivered to the doorstep.
The gang start plotting to spring Lawrence from prison, making Clarke's decision to close the case look increasingly suboptimal. Angela heads to the Big Top to track down Nish, and Milton Jones has the worst week of his life courtesy of the Only Joking team. Sara Pascoe joins Pat and Adams in the studio, where she is disappointed by the absence of her favourite member of the Springleaf crew...
Rosie Jones, the most notorious bully on the comedy circuit, joins Pat and Adams in the studio this week as events really start to come to a head. Sita tells Pat an uncomfortable truth, which is a devastating blow for someone with a pathological need to be liked. Clarke also drops a bombshell - the sort of bombshell with 'you're fired' written on the side. And worlds collide when Pat decides to leverage his position on the Only Joking team to spring Lawrence from the big house, culminating in a bad day for Hugh Dennis...
It's the final episode of the series. The truth about Operation Pot Roast is revealed, as a recording of Detective Nicely (Louis Theroux) preparing to confront Police Chief Rittenberger (Michael McKean) is unearthed. There's a prison break. There's a casino heist. There's an armed stand off with the cops. There are ice cream sandwiches. Basically, there's a lot going on.