HBO's 10-Part Stephen King Series With Near-Perfect RT Score Has One Of Its Best Casts

What results is one of the best horror miniseries ever made, which grips and unsettles us with a slow-burning mystery that induces a fear of the unknown, rather than relying on low-hanging jump scares. It’s no wonder that Stephen King himself is such a big fan of the series.

Of course, it helps that The Outsider features some of the best performances in any TV show based on King’s work. Besides Mendelsohn’s accomplished portrayal of police detective Ralph Anderson, there are several standout supporting performances, including one actor’s show-stopping turn as brilliant and unorthodox private investigator Holly Gibney.

HBO's Adaptation Of The Outsider Has An Outstanding Cast

When the likes of Jason Bateman, Julianne Nicholson, Bill Camp, Mare Winningham, Paddy Considine, Hettienne Park, Max Beesley, and Cynthia Erivo come together in a single cast, it’s no surprise that the show in question is such a compelling watch. Each of these celebrated actors is on top form, despite some of them playing characters far outside their comfort zones.

In particular, Cynthia Erivo gives her best TV performance as Holly Gibney, bringing something wholly fresh and original to the role following Justine Lupe’s portrayal of Gibney in previous Stephen King TV adaptation Mr. Mercedes. Erivo’s version of this iconic private investigator is a commanding screen presence who embraces her own identity, while bringing pseudomystical savant-like qualities to her work.

Meanwhile, Jason Bateman keeps us guessing as prime suspect Terry Maitland, and Mare Winningham serves as the emotional heart of the show with an air of understated gravitas. Ultimately, though, The Outsider’s success rests on the strength of its lead actor, who gives a performance up there with the very best of his career.

Ben Mendelsohn sets the tone for this disturbing crime-horror miniseries with a restrained yet powerfully moving performance, which underscores the grim reality of the case he’s investigating, along with the terrifying sense that it involves things beyond his understanding. It’s primarily thanks to Mendelsohn that the balance between procedural crime drama and supernatural horror works so well.

The Outsider Is One Of The Best Stephen King Shows On Streaming

There are dozens of highly entertaining and suitably unsettling TV adaptations of Stephen King out there, but only a handful of them manage to capture the essence of the author’s work. King’s stories are notoriously difficult to render onscreen, due to their unusual and seemingly contradictory combination of suburban realism and unexplained supernatural phenomena.

The author himself is famously hard to please when it comes to adaptations of his novels and short stories, especially when screenwriters and directors diverge markedly from his own vision and intentions for the work at hand. The Outsider is that rare example of a perfect Stephen King TV show, which pleases both the author and its wider audience.

The miniseries makes changes to its literary source material where necessary, in order for its plot and characterizations to function in the medium of television. Yet, it successfully transfers the tone and pacing of King’s novel to the screen wholesale. The Outsider is a triumph of modern TV horror, which also reflects the range of its cast’s exceptional talents.