Stephen King Teases the Terror of The Outsider in New Featurette

Thanks to novels like The Stand, The Shining, and IT, author Stephen King has proven himself as a master of supernatural terror, though his story The Outsider, which HBO has turned into a series, begins with a real-world premise of horror, as the above featurette explores how the supernatural elements only heighten the more grounded tone. Rather than enlisting a showrunner who has delved into otherworldly horror, HBO enlisted Richard Price, who has previously worked on HBO's The Wire and The Night Of, to help craft the film's gripping murder-mystery tone. Check out the featurette above and catch The Outsider on HBO beginning on January 12, 2020.

The 10-episode series follows police detective Ralph Anderson (Ben Mendelsohn), as he sets out to investigate the mutilated body of 11-year-old Frankie Peterson found in the Georgia woods. The mysterious circumstances surrounding this horrifying crime leads Ralph, still grieving the recent death of his own son, to bring in unorthodox private investigator Holly Gibney (Cynthia Erivo), whose uncanny abilities he hopes will help explain the unexplainable.

The cast includes Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominee Ben Mendelsohn (Bloodline, Ready Player One) as Ralph Anderson; Tony Award winner Cynthia Erivo (The Color Purple) as Holly Gibney; Bill Camp (Emmy-nominee, The Night Of) as Howie Salomon; Mare Winningham (Oscar-nominee, Georgia) as Ralph's wife Jeannie Anderson; Paddy Considine (HBO's upcoming The Third Day) as Claude Bolton, manager of a local strip club; Julianne Nicholson (HBO's upcoming Mare of Easttown) as Glory Maitland; Yul Vázquez (Divorce) as Georgia Bureau of Investigation detective Yunis Sablo; Jeremy Bobb (The Knick) as Alec Pelley, a private investigator hired by Howie; and Marc Menchaca (The Sinner) as detective Jack Hoskins; with Emmy- and Golden Globe winner Jason Bateman (Ozark, Arrested Development) as Terry Maitland in episodes 101 and 102.

Ahead of the release of the series, King previously claimed that The Outsider was "one of the best" adaptations of his work. While the author often promotes projects that were inspired by his stories, he doesn't always offer the same level of endorsement, but seeing the production value of the series, combined with the talent behind and in front of the camera, King's claims look like they could be accurate.

Tune in to the premiere of The Outsider on Sunday, January 12, 2020.

Are you looking forward to the new series? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!