There’s no shortage of Stephen King adaptations, but some, likeThe Outsider, get their due. Some explode into pop culture juggernauts (It,The Shining), while otherKing movies get memed to oblivion.
But in 2020, HBO droppedThe Outsider, a King thriller so eerie, so tightly wound, and so psychologically layered, it deserves to be mentioned in the same breath asThe Night OforSharp Objects. It just didn’t get the same spotlight, even though King himself called it “one of the best adaptations” of his work.
Anchored by grief, paranoia, and a genuinely unsettling premise,The Outsiderpremiered with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 91%,then faded into streaming obscurity. If you missed it the first time, now’s the perfect moment to catch up. The best part? You can binge the whole thing in a single weekend.
The Outsider Is One Of The Most Overlooked Stephen King Adaptations (But It’s Great)
A Prestige Crime Thriller With A Supernatural Core That Flew Under the Radar
The Outsideris a different kind of King adaptation. It begins like a true crime drama, in whicha beloved Little League coach is arrested for the brutal murder of a child, and the evidence seems airtight. Until it’s not.
Just as you settle into the procedural rhythm, the show twists. It becomes something more sinister, more mythological, and transitions intoa classic old-school King story with a reveal that would spoil the show to even talk about it.
Fan-favorite Holly Gibney (Cynthia Erivo), a recurring King character fromMr. MercedesandFinders Keepers, plays a central role in this series. For longtime King readers, her arc here offers one of the most compelling live-action portrayals to date.
So why didn’t it blow up? Timing, mostly.The Outsiderpremiered in early 2020, right before COVID-19 shut down the world. It also lived in the shadow of King adaptations with bigger IP clout or nostalgic pull. No Pennywise, no Shawshank. Despite King’s stellar novel releasing in 2018, and the reliance on the story twist, word of mouth just didn’t catch on.
~10 hours (10 episodes)
Holly Gibney (also appears inMr. Mercedes)
Recommended For Fans Of
True Detective,Sharp Objects,Castle Rock
What makesThe Outsiderspecial is its refusal to spoon-feed. It trusts the audience to sit with ambiguity and horror that isn’t always visible. It’s not a jump-scare fest. If you lovedTrue Detectiveseason 1 orThe Night Of, this is in that wheelhouse. The payoff is absolutely worth the slow journey there.
You Can Get Through The Outsider In About 10 Hours
The Miniseries Is Perfect For A Weekend Binge
Here’s the other beauty ofThe Outsider: it’s lean. Even thoughStephen King still believesThe Outsiderdeserves a season 2, it’s just 10 episodes, no filler, no dragged-out subplot arcs. Structured like the novel,you may watch the whole thing in about 10 hours, and still have time to think about what just crawled into your brain by Monday.
Every hour deepens the sense of unease. The dread creeps in slowly through long silences, murky forests, andthe suggestion that something is always watching. The pacing is deliberate, but never sluggish. It builds tension with surgical control, always holding just enough back while keeping the audience guessing.
You don’t need to wait for answers. They’re all there — buried under grief, dirt, and a presence that thrives when no one believes in it.
And while HBO left the door open for more (there were whispers of a second season),The Outsider’s first 10 episodes form a complete story. You don’t need to wait for answers. They’re all there — buried under grief, dirt, and a presence that thrives when no one believes in it.
