My TV Fortnight: The Outsider

Currently being screened on Sky Atlantic, The Outsider is based on the 2018 novel by Stephen King. Having grown up in a home where the author was always, er, king, I must admit some bemusement over the recent avalanche of King adaptations for TV and film. In the past few years, we’ve – deep breath – It, Pet Sematary, In The Tall Grass, 11.22.63, Mr Mercedes (more on that in a bit), The Dark Tower and Doctor Sleep. For good measure, there’s also the ongoing anthology series Castle Rock.

Throw in the upcoming TV adaptions of The Institute, Lisey’s Story and The Stand, and it certainly seems the mainstream has remembered something I’ve known my whole life – Stephen King rules (go to the top of the class if you get that reference).

However, much like a blindfolded Pennywise throwing daggers at the Losers Club, King adaptations tend to be hit and miss. For every must-watch like 11.22.63, you get a Dark Tower – a film so soulless it made Return To Salem’s Lot look like an emotional tour de force. Which brings me to The Outsider.

Four episodes in at the time of writing, the show-runners have adopted an “if it ain’t broke” approach to the source material. Sticking so close to the book has its pros and cons, and while I do appreciate they haven’t taken too many liberties with the story, surprises are also thin on the ground. It tells the tale of Terry “Coach T” Maitland – played by Jason Bateman, who also directs some of the episodes – a baseball coach accused of the rape, murder and mutilation of a child named Frankie Peterson. On the back of indisputable evidence, detective Ralph Anderson arrests Maitland in front of the whole town to make an example of him, but then things start to unravel….

Nice guy Terry has a watertight alibi and can prove he wasn’t at the crime scene. So the question is: how can a person be in two places at the same time? Without straying too far into Spoiler Town, the book’s first half is very much an intrigue-packed crime thriller. Then, in the final act, shit gets real (or unreal in this case…). By episode four’s climax, it seems this adaptation will follow suit….

Though a slow-burner, The Outsider is dark, foreboding and boasts some fantastic writing. Scene-stealer Cynthia Erivo is a joy to watch as Holly Gibney, a brilliant-but-bruised PI, who suffers from OCD and sensory processing disorder, and is somewhere on the autism spectrum. If the name sounds familiar, that’s because the same character appears in Mr Mercedes, where she’s portrayed by Justine Lupe. Both she and Erivo play the role with the right amount of heart, which is the most important thing.

Though we’re halfway through The Outsider, I’ve a feeling this rollercoaster is only cranking into gear. Better fasten those seatbelts now, folks, and watch out for the man with straws for eyes…