Stephen King’s latest novel, The Outsider, just hit book shelves and devices on 22nd May. However, in case you haven’t noticed, the entertainment industry is in the midst of a Kingaissance of sorts, with adaptation-minded studios stumbling over each other to voraciously scoop up anything the man has written, be it a novel, short story, or cocktail napkin on which he wrote directions to a rest stop (that last one’s a joke, but oddly feasible). Consequently, The Outsider is already heading for adaptation pastures, with plans for a television series blooming.
HBO has announced a pickup for The Outsider TV series, which will manifest as a 10-episode limited event on the premium cable channel. On board as executive producers are Richard Price (HBO’s The Night Of, The Deuce), Jack Bender (Mr. Mercedes, Lost) and Jason Bateman via his Aggregate Films, also joined by Temple Hill Entertainment and MRC.
Ben Mendelsohn has been tapped to star in The Outsider upon HBO’s greenlight. The starring role will presumably see Mendelsohn tackle a small-town murder investigation that takes a supernatural swerve.
The veteran Aussie actor, Mendelsohn, has achieved acclaim on the big and small screens in recent years, notably with his unforgettable co-starring role as Danny Rayburn on Netflix serial drama Bloodline, for which he won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in 2016, with nominations banked in 2015 and 2017. The role opened doors for prominent parts in movies such as Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Darkest Hour, Ready Player One and Robin Hood, with – amongst other things – a major role in upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe offering in the Brie Larson-starring Captain Marvel, which hits theaters in February, 2019.
He might be joined onscreen by executive producer Jason Bateman. The New York-born actor, a late-1980s teen idol who experienced a post-2000s career resurgence after starring in comedy series Arrested Development, has also made a transition to behind the camera as the star/director/executive-producer of the hit Netflix crime drama, Ozark. Thus, with Bateman set to direct two episodes of The Outsider, there is a hinted possibility that he could also field a guest-starring role.
The Outsider Story
The story of The Outsider puts a mind-blowingly monstrous twist on the traditional accused-of-murder fiction (in which King previously delved with Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption). Here, police detective Ralph Anderson fields an investigation in the fictional Oklahoma town of Flint City that upends the local populace when a well-liked local man, Terry Maitland, is arrested for the shockingly malicious murder of an 11-year-old boy. While a mountain of evidence – including DNA and fingerprints – make the case seem open-and-shut, Maitland vehemently swears his innocence; an idea that gains momentum when his alibi – of being out of town at a conference – checks out, leading the investigation to a potentially supernatural turn.
Interestingly, there’s some King Universe crossover potential with this project, at least, as far as the story is concerned. In The Outsider novel, investigator Ralph Anderson is partnered on the Maitland case with Holly Gibney, a character from King’s 2014 novel, Mr. Mercedes, which, of course, has already been adapted as a television series for Audience Network, on which the character was played by Justine Lupe (Madame Secretary, Sneaky Pete). However, that series is the construct of a different production companies, which might complicate a prospective crossover.
We’ll keep you updated on The Outsider TV series as things develop!