The Stephen King Series On Streaming That Will Haunt Your Nightmares
As the nights get darker and the weather gets chillier, there is nothing better than a good crime series – and Max’s The Outsider is no exception.
The Outsider is based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name. The plot centers on the horrid death of the character Frankie Peterson in a small town called Cherokee City, Georgia. The detective assigned to the case Ralph Anderson (Ben Mendelsohn) finds overwhelming evidence against the local Little League coach Frankie’s Terry Maitland (Jason Bateman).
The Outsider combines elements of mystery (like the show Supernatural) and other horror elements in ways not many murder mysteries have done before.
To solve the case quickly, Anderson apprehends Maitland as a primary suspect. In a shocking turn of events, Maitland produces a solid alibi as he is attending a conference in another city during the time.
The Outsider twists into a mystery as Anderson finds out if any other forces were at play with Frankie Peterson’s murder. The series focuses on solving a singular murder mystery and the character’s development during the mystery, similar to the first season of Broadchurch.
However, The Outsider also combines elements of mystery (like the show Supernatural) and other horror elements in ways not many murder mysteries have done before. On top of the mystery aspects, the show has an interesting way of noting the psychological impacts of the murder.
The Outsider ranks very highly on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 91 percent critic rating and an 82 percent audience rating. Letterboxd also rates the show highly as well, with an average rating of 3.6 stars. On IMDb, The Outsider also ranks 7.6 with over 96 thousand votes.
The series was also nominated for a Primetime Emmy, Critics Choice Award, and the Satellite Awards. Ben Mendelsohn, Cynthia Ervio, and the show itself were recognized.
The Outsider shines through its unique way of highlighting a typical cast of characters. As previously mentioned, Ben Mendelsohn stars as the detective Ralph Anderson. Anderson is reminiscent of Jim Hopper in Stranger Things, plagued after the recent loss of his son Derek.
Stephen King’s The Outsider is streaming on Max.
Later in the story, Cynthia Ervio joins the detective crew as Holly Gibney, who is called in to help with the Maitland Investigation. Holly Gibney is a popular Stephen King character after having first appeared in King’s Bill Hodges trilogy.
Joining the cast of The Outsider is Jason Bateman as Terry Maitland, a Little League baseball coach. Julianne Nicholson plays Glory Maitland, Terry’s wife, who is forced to deal with the social stigma surrounding Terry’s apprehension.
You can’t have a great murder mystery without a good legal crew. Actors Bill Camp, Jeremy Bobb, and Mare Winningham add a unique legal aspect to the case which gives the characters greater depth.
The show remained faithful to Stephen King’s book in many different ways while taking a couple of distinct liberties. For example, the death of Ralph Anderson’s son was not included in the novel, as the character in the novel was still alive.
“I needed Ralph to have more of a personal stake in the loss of children,” writer Richard Price reported to Variety. The writing also holds a slower pace, holding the style of many recent “slow-burn” movies and television shows. The first half of the novel is covered in the first two episodes, while the remaining eight episodes cover the second half of the novel.
Will There Be More Of The Outsider?
Many fans of The Outsider have wondered whether the 2020 show will return for a second season. HBO has never announced plans for any more seasons. However, author Stephen King leaked that scripts from the show’s production company MRC have been created.
As soon as the actor’s strikes lift and a home is found, there is hope for the acclaimed television series. The cast and the crew of The Outsider have also expressed their interest in continuing the mystery for another season.
Catch the intrigue of The Outsider, streaming exclusively on the Max platform.
