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New Detective Drama Hailed As ‘Best Stephen King Adaptation Ever’

New Detective Drama Hailed As ‘Best Stephen King Adaptation Ever’

The first episode has already aired and the fans are loving it.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

Revered author Stephen King has written more than 60 spinetingling books, with many of them being brought onto the big screen. But as many fans eagerly await the upcoming film adaptation of The Dark Tower, a different book has been made into a television series and it's taking everyone by storm.

Brendan Gleeson stars in Mr Mercedes as recently-retired detective Bill Hodges, who is contacted by a person claiming to be a driver who ploughed a Mercedes vehicle into a crowd. The murderer, Brady Hartsfield, is shown to be a psychopath who's in an incestuous relationship with his mum. Hartsfield, played by Harry Treadaway, taunts Hodges with messages, which are sent to his computer in order to keep him looking into the case.

But Hodges isn't alone in the vigilante investigation. He's helped by Jerome Robinson (Jharrel Jerome) and Janey Patterson (Mary-Louise Parker), who encourage him to keep digging.

Check out the trailer here:

Credit: Audience/AT&T

The first episode was released last week on American television network Audience, but there's no word yet on whether it will air in the UK or anywhere else. However, for the people who did catch the pilot, they were very impressed.



The show is being directed by Jack Bender, who is behind other massive programmes like Lost, Game of Thrones, The Sopranos and Stephen King adaption Under the Dome.

There are 10 episodes, which are each 60 minutes long, ready for the first season.

The novel was released in 2014, but King says it's the first instalment of a trilogy, which includes Finders Keepers and End of Watch. He adds that the title for Mr Mercedes was inspired by a real-life event where a woman drove her vehicle into a McDonald's restaurant.

King initially planned for it to be a short story, but wound up writing 436 pages. It was written before the Boston Marathon bombings, but he describes the plot line as being 'too creepily close for comfort' in an interview with USA Today.

Early reviews are praising Gleeson for his portrayal of Bill Hodges, with the Hollywood Reporter saying: "Gleeson in his native accent is a slurred obscenity-spewing artist. He brings a spark that explains a little of what Janey, played with trademark quirky tentativeness by Parker, sees in him."

We'll have to wait and see whether the show gets a worldwide release.

Featured Image Credit: AT&T/Audience

Topics: Stephen King, Serial Killer