Smash hit comedy "The Young Offenders" is back for a fourth season as the boys' trip to Colombia does not go according to plan. Read on for how to watch "The Young Offenders" season 4 from anywhere with a VPN – and potentially for FREE!
► U.K. date and time: "The Young Offenders" season 4 premieres Friday, May 10 at 9.30 p.m. BST (4.30 p.m. ET/ 1.30p.m. PT) on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
• WATCH FREE — BBC iPlayer (U.K.)
• Watch anywhere — try NordVPN 100% risk free
The BBC bills "The Young Offenders" season 4 as, "Feckless teens Conor and Jock can't help but get in trouble - be it petty crime, hapless romances or disappointing mum Mairead. Craic-filled, Cork-set comedy." But there's more to it than that.
It seems hard to believe that Conor and Jock have been creating mayhem on our screens since 2018 but they have and now, older but not necessarily wiser, they are back to demonstrate just how little they've learned in the meantime. Consequently, they remain the hapless underdogs we always look out for.
For this season, Connor's mum Mairéad has got married while he was in jail and, just to add a little fuel to the fire, now shares the house with her policeman husband Sgt Healy. Connor needs a job, preferably not selling drugs. What could possibly go right? Not much, or so it seems.
Read on for how to watch "The Young Offenders" season 4 online and from anywhere.
Watch 'The Young Offenders' season 4 for free
In the U.K., "The Young Offenders" season 4 is available to stream for FREE on BBC iPlayer and BBC One on Friday, May 10. Episode 1 airs at 9.30 p.m. BST.
But what if you are a Brit abroad and you don't want to miss this hilarious comedy? Don't worry — you can watch it via a VPN instead. We'll show you how to do that below.
Watch 'The Young Offenders' Season 4 from abroad
If you are a Brit abroad and can't wait to watch "The Young Offenders" season 4, a VPN (Virtual Private Network) might be the answer to your prayers.
The software allows your devices to appear to be back in your home country regardless of where in the world you are, making it ideal for anybody away on vacation or on business. Our favorite is NordVPN.
Using a VPN is incredibly simple.
1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, NordVPN is our favorite.
2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance, if you're in the U.S. and want to view a U.K. service, you'd select U.K. from the list.
3. Sit back and watch the show. Head to BBC iPlayer.
Can I watch 'The Young Offenders' season 4 online in the U.S.?
As yet there are no plans for the U.S. to pick up "The Young Offenders" season 4 – none of the previous episodes are streaming in the States, either.
If you are a Brit in the States for work or on vacation, you can stream the show (and catch up with all the previous seasons) by using a VPN such as NordVPN and choosing U.K. from the list.
Can I watch 'The Young Offenders' season 4 in Canada?
Season 1 is available to buy via Apple TV+. But there's no guarantee seasons 4 will become available in Canada.
However, if you are a Brit in the Great White North for work or on vacation, you can stream the show (and catch up with all the previous seasons) by using a VPN such as NordVPN to unblock BBC iPlayer.
Can I watch 'The Young Offenders' season 4 in Australia?
The first three seasons of the "The Young Offenders" are available to stream on Stan with a 30-day FREE trial. However, there's no word on when season 4 will arrive Down Under.
If you are a Brit in Australia for work or on vacation you can stream "The Young Offenders" seasons 1-4 by using a VPN such as NordVPN to unblock your usual BBC iPlayer account.
'The Young Offenders' season 4 episode guide
- S4 Episode 1:
Six-year-old Star accidentally discovers the Billy Murphy mask, infuriating Sgt Healy. Conor and Jock’s genius plan to help Jock and Star have a video call is rumbled by Linda - S4 Episode 2:
Conor and Jock have grown older, but not any wiser. A madcap trip sees them on the wrong side of the law as they’re given a free holiday to Colombia from a Spanish-speaking fella. - S4 Episode 3:
Conor takes on a job in the fishmongers, still desperate to get back with his former flame Linda. Conor’s arch-enemy, Gavin Madigan, continues to taunt him. - S4 Episode 4:
Conor is becoming an increasing nuisance in Healy and Mairéad’s house, and when Healy shares that he’s going on a fishing trip to where he grew up, Mairead insists he bring Connor. - S4 Episode 5:
There’s a new Fake Billy Murphy in town, and he steals Conor’s most prized possession – the engraved lighter given to him by his best friend Jock. - S4 Episode 6:
Jock and Siobhán’s daughter Star is turning six and a birthday party is being organised. Orla Walsh however is having her kitchen redone, and asks Mairéad to host the party.
Q&A with the cast of 'The Young Offenders'
ALEX MURPHY (CONOR):
What can you tell us about the new series? This series opens three years later, Conor is a man now and is fresh out of prison so he’s trying to navigate his way through the modern reality as a man rather than a child and that’s hard for him.
How will Conor cope without Jock? I think the beauty with Conor and to be honest all of the characters in the show is they will cope with whatever is thrown at them. No matter what happens to these characters, they still hold on to some sort of hope. It is a struggle for him without Jock but he won’t sink.
Conor returns to find his mum Mairead happily married and living with Sgt Healy, do you think Healy and Conor will ever get along? Conor finds Healy really annoying and strict, he ruins all the plans. In this season you finally get to look behind the curtain as Conor will see what Healy’s relationship is like with his father as Mairead forces them to spend some time together on a fishing trip.
Viewers will see that the dynamics have changed this series, can audiences still expect much of the same from The Young Offenders? Conor's growing up, but he doesn't know how to really do that, so you're watching Conor trying to navigate adulthood and he can't be stealing any more otherwise he'll go back to prison and he doesn't want that, so he's forced to live by society's rules. He’s hanging around more with Billy Murphy who probably sees a bit of himself in Conor who has learned to accept that Billy means well, even if he doesn't always execute it.
What is it about the show that makes it so appealing? I think every character is so flawed and every character has such strong motives that you can relate to someone in the show. And the writing is so good, every character learns something about themselves and with just comedy and improv and heartfelt moments throughout in 27 minutes, it's a brilliant show.
CHRIS WALLEY (JOCK):
What can viewers expect from the new series of The Young Offenders? You can expect the unexpected. With The Young Offenders you never know what to expect. When I heard the show was coming back, I was excited to see everyone again and get the band back together. Its been four years since we filmed the last series so to get everyone back together and just slip back into Jock is always good craic.
What's different about your character from last season? He has a ponytail and he's in prison and the only thing he really maintains is his fringe. His circumstances have changed an awful lot. He got himself into a bit of bother with Conor and now he's in a Colombian prison and has been for the past three and a half years.
You’ve been playing Jock since the very beginning, do you see any of yourself in him? Absolutely I mean I think we're very alike in some aspects and then very dissimilar in a lot of aspects but he's got a good heart and he tries to do right but he's also a bit of a messer and I can probably relate a lot to those aspects.
What three words would you use to describe Jock? Troublesome, kind and impulsive.
How do you feel your character has developed from series 1 to series 4? Every episode with the lads, they go on a learning curve and by the next episode they’ve forgotten what they've learned. So they're always taking two steps forward, one step back. They're maturing a little bit and then they’ll be immature again. Jock’s got a child now so his circumstances are forcing him to mature but he'll always at heart be a child. So he'll never be too mature because if he was too mature there would be no comedy or no fun.
The cast seems to be very tight-knit off-camera. Is that actually the case? Yes, we are all very close off -camera and we all hang out. That's just been the way since the start, since we did the film many moons ago and we all remain very close. The one cast member I always look forward to seeing is Alex, whenever we're back on set together it's always a lot of fun.
Why do you think The Young Offenders is so popular? I think this show's probably been popular internationally because everyone can relate to the characters. Ultimately the show is about friendship and family and that's probably what people relate to the most. Everyone had a best friend/friends growing up and you probably found yourselves in some stupid situations. So I think it's a show that's very nostalgic to people as well, for many reasons.
HILARY ROSE (MAIREAD):
Hilary, where do we find Mairéad at the start of the new series? Mairéad is seeing her son again after three years as he’s just come out of prison, but her life has changed substantially. She has freedom for the first time in her life without the two lads, she’s married and living with Sgt Healy, they’ve got this lovely life together and she’s in a place where she wanted to be and then we have her return of Conor, her jailbird son who throws a spanner in the works. It makes her living conditions and her life more difficult again.
Do you think Conor and Healy will ever get on? I don't know. I mean Conor’s worse nightmare is to come home and his new stepdad is a Garda. So it's a nightmare for him. I don't know how they can ever resolve that.
You’ve had some great guest stars over the years, who would you love to see in future episodes? I'm going to say Jason Momoa straight off the bat. I think he'd fit in quite well and he does like the Guinness. Fiona Shaw would also be great. What a powerhouse of a woman from Cork.
What is it about the show that makes it so appealing? It's like it's like a mini feature film every 27 minutes. All the characters are super relatable.
SHANE CASEY (BILLY MURPHY):
What can you tell us about Billy in the new series? Billy is really excited that Conor is back in Cork. He's excited about causing more mayhem and having more fun. Later in the series we learn there’s a fake fake Billy Murphy and he really wants to get to the bottom and find out who this fake Billy is. So he has a bit of an adventure planned and he's really excited that Conor's on board with finding out who fake fake Billy is.
Will Billy try to replace Jock in Conor’s life? Yeah, I think he sees an opportunity now Jock isn’t around, he wants to be Conor’s buddy so he's in there fairly quickly. He thinks he can be like a big brother to Conor but as always it's not a straightforward journey with him.
You’ve had some great guest stars over the years, who would you like to feature in future episodes? It would be an obvious one to have the famous people from Cork on the show so we would love Cillian Murphy to pop up at some point. Jonathan Rhys -Meyers is also from Cork and I know Michael Fassbender is from Killarney, it would be great to have him on the show too.
What reaction have you had from viewers to the show? I often get feedback from people saying how much they love the show, Billy and the characters and that’s very rewarding. I’ve travelled around different places and have been recognised and it's been lovely for people to come up and say how much they really love the show. I know Callum from It’s a Sin watches it with his father and that's amazing to me that one of the top actors out there enjoys our show.
What is it about The Young Offenders that makes the show so appealing to audiences? It's got heart no matter what the characters do, they all make mistakes, but it's got heart.
How would you best describe The Young Offenders to someone who isn’t familiar with the show? It's very funny. I’ve been watching the old series on BBC iPlayer and I keep picking up on little nuanced moments that I didn't see originally because I'm so obsessed with my own performance. When I do see it again I'm like oh that's good, the show does have lovely repeat qualities. It doesn't focus too much on what's going on in the real world. There's a woman my mother knows at bingo and she said to her if I'm ever feeling lonely, I just put on The Young Offenders DVD and watch it and that’s a great vote of confidence. I think it's important for people to be able to switch off, put their phones down for a bit and have a laugh.
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