Fans are praising a lesser-known TV crime drama show with only ten episodes, which is an adaptation of a highly praised book by Stephen King.
Stephen King is known as the master of horror, having written cult classics such as IT and The Shining. However, many fans might not realise that King has also written several acclaimed crime, mystery, and detective novels, including the Bill Hodges Trilogy, as well as standalone suspense stories like The Outsider and Billy Summers.
The Outsider Adaptation
Taking to Reddit, one user asked for recommendations for books adapted into TV shows. Another user recommended "Stephen King's The Outsider". The book was published in 2018 and follows the police investigation after an eleven-year-old boy's violated corpse is found in a town park. Eyewitnesses and fingerprints point to one of the town's most popular citizens. It was named one of King's most unsettling and compulsively readable stories.
Two years after the book's release, the mini-series premiered on HBO Max, starring Ben Mendelsohn, Cynthia Erivo, and Bill Camp. The first two episodes were critically acclaimed, with particular praise for its atmosphere, direction, and performances. While some viewers complained about the pace, the praises for the cast overshadowed these criticisms.
Viewers were especially impressed by Erivo's portrayal of Holly Gibney, a recurring character in King's Bill Hodges trilogy, who was added as a major supporting character in The Outsider.
No Second Season
Despite positive fan reactions to the ten episodes, HBO passed on a second season. Production company MRC intended to shop the series to other outlets. King mentioned that scripts for a second season were written, and the cast and crew expressed interest in continuing, but no further news has emerged.
Many of King's titles are the basis for major motion pictures, including IT, Stand By Me (adapted from The Body), and The Shawshank Redemption, which is IMDb's top-rated movie of all time. His horror book Salem's Lot has been adapted into two TV series (1979 and 2004) and a film in 2024. The Mist was adapted into a series in 2017 but was cancelled after one season.
King has been open about preferring television over film adaptations because TV provides time to expand upon his detailed plots and character arcs. He famously noted: "That is the great thing about TV: You can take these things as they are and expand more."
The Outsider is currently available to stream on HBO Max.
