Overview
He's the horror and thriller author responsible for bloody proms, haunted hotels, possessed cars, sewer-dwelling clowns and spooky animal resting grounds, not to mention literary stalkers, depression-era death row prisoners, a town plagued by unexplained fogginess and another trapped under a dome. Indeed, since coming to fame with Carrie back in the 70s, Stephen King has never proven unpopular — but the world sure loves the writer's work right now.
The viewing world in particular seems to adore King at the moment, with page-to-screen adaptations of his books popping up thick and fast. In 2019 alone, a new version of Pet Sematary hit cinemas, as did IT: Chapter Two and The Shining sequel Doctor Sleep — while In the Tall Grass recently arrived on Netflix. On the small screen, Mr Mercedes is up to its third season, Castle Rock unfurled its second and Creepshow's first recently landed.
Next year will see three more TV shows join them, too, all based on King's books — and if you like the author in murder-mystery mode, you might want to add The Outsider to your viewing list.
HBO's addition to the fold is a ten-part mini-series taking inspiration from King's 2018 novel of the same name, which focuses on the gruesome death of an 11-year-boy. Little League coach Terry Maitland (Jason Bateman) is suspected of the shocking murder, with his fingerprints all over the scene; however, video footage places him 60 miles across town at the time the crime went down.
Unravelling just what happened is a task for police detective Ralph Anderson (Ben Mendelsohn), who's also mourning the death of his own son. When nothing seems to add up, he brings in unconventional private investigator Holly Gibney (Widows and Bad Times at the El Royale's Cynthia Erivo) to help, despite him professing to have "no tolerance for the unexplainable".
In case you're thinking that this all sounds like one of King's more straightforward tales, "an insidious supernatural force" is also involved according to the official HBO synopsis — it is called The Outsider, after all. And, while the show's first teaser focused on the murder case, its just-dropped full trailer plays up the creepiness, coincidences and the fact that something beyond the bounds of normal logic just might be going on.
Mendo, Australia's favourite current acting export, also produces the show, as well as seemingly getting a rare chance to play something other than a blockbuster baddie of late (see Rogue One, Ready Player One and Robin Hood, for example). As for recent Emmy directing winner Bateman, he executive produces and jumps behind the lens on the series' first two episodes.
Check out the new trailer below:
The Outsider starts airing on Sunday, January 12 in America — we'll update you once viewing details for Down Under have been announced.