The Year of Stephen King Adaptations continues (or really the decade ... at least the last several years), with HBO snatching up the author's latest novel, The Outsider. The 2018 bestseller will be turned into a TV series starring Ben Mendelsohn (Rogue One, Bloodline, and star of my heart), with Jason Bateman (Ozark, Arrested Development) set to direct the first two episodes.
According to THR, "The Outsider centers on seemingly straightforward investigation into the gruesome murder of a local boy that leads a seasoned cop and an unorthodox investigator to question everything they believe to be real, as an insidious supernatural force edges its way into the case."
Bateman will executive produce alongside Jack Bender, Richard Price, Temple Hill's Marty Bowen and Aggregate Films' Michael Costigan. The series comes from MRC, which is also the studio behind Bateman's Netlfix series Ozark. Mendelsohn is set as a producer of the series as well.
Mendelsohn, for his part, has been exceptionally busy lately, particularly so after his Emmy-winning turn on Netflix's Bloodline. He starred in the Star Wars spinoff Rogue One (and was wasted, honestly), and can be seen in Robin Hood: Origins, The Land of Steady Habits, and Joel Edgerton's The King, as well as the upcoming Captain Marvel. He's an outstanding actor (who can really work a cape), and if HBO can recapture some True Detective Season 1 magic with this (especially given its supernatural elements), it could be another solid hit for the premium network as it looks to re-stack its roster of dramas (especially as its juggernaut Game of Thrones is ending this year).
Speaking of, in addition to The Outsider, HBO will have new seasons of Westworld, True Detective, and Big Little Lies, as well as Damon Lindelof's Watchmen, J.J. Abrams' Demimonde, Jordan Peele's Lovecraft Country, and the Nicole Kidman / David E. Kelley limited series The Undoing coming up.
King adaptations have been something on a mixed bag on TV recently, but while you wait for The Outsider, we recommend you check out Hulu's excellent adaptation of Castle Rock.
