Netflix fans can’t stop bingeing ‘demented’ thriller led by Irish acting legend

Netflix viewers have rushed to watch a ‘terrifying’ crime drama based on a series of books by Stephen King.

Released in 2017, Mr. Mercedes was an adaptation of the acclaimed horror writer’s Bill Hodges novel trilogy – which included the books Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, and End of Watch.

Developed by David E. Kelly – who would later work on Big Little Lies – the series starred Irish acting legend Brendan Gleeson.

At that time, he was best known for appearing in films including Braveheart, 28 Days Later, Gangs of New York, In Bruges and the Harry Potter franchise.

In Mr. Mercedes he played retired detective Kermit William ‘Bill’ Hodges, who is haunted by the unsolved case of ‘Mr. Mercedes’ who killed 16 people when driving a stolen Mercedes through a line of jobseekers at a local job fair.

The killer – Brady Hartsfield – who was played by Harry Treadaway, then gets in contact with Bill and starts to taunt him, kicking off a ‘cat-and-mouse game that soon has deadly real-life consequences’.

The first 10-episode season was praised by critics and viewers. In its review, The Playlist wrote: ‘Mr. Mercedes” features enough hallmarks of Stephen King’s work – graphic violence, a terrifying villain and strong characters – to satisfy his longtime fans.’

‘Mr. Mercedes is premium-unleaded nightmare fuel right out of the gate, without even a touch of the strange or supernatural,’ The Boston Globe wrote.

‘From where I’m sitting, Mr. Mercedes looks to be the best TV adaptation of a Stephen King novel yet,’ CinemaBlend added.

Meanwhile viewers said it was ‘thrilling’, ‘suspenseful’ and ‘compelling’.

The series later returned for a second season in 2017, with a third then coming two years later. All seasons aired on the now-defunct American pay television channel Audience.

In 2020 Mr. Mercedes was then discontinued, however no announcement was ever made on whether it would return for a fourth season or had been officially cancelled.

Five years on, the series has now been picked up by Netflix, where all three seasons have now been made available to watch on the streaming service in the UK. It is currently the sixth most-watched series on the platform locally.

At the time the series was released, King spoke about his thoughts on the adaptation.

‘It isn’t a one-to-one translation, it’s pretty close, but everything that they did really added to it. There’s a part in the book when they discover who the Mercedes Killer is, and Beaty goes to a motel room to shave his head. When you see it, I think its episode 8 or 9, what they thought of in place of the motel room is absolutely genius,’ he told Variety.

Speaking about the casting of Gleeson, he explained how he’d had the actor in mind for the role.

‘He looks exactly the way I had imagined Hodges would look. The only thing I asked was to make sure he keeps his Irish accent but put in a line or two about why he has it. My suggestion was he emigrated when he was 17 and found the accent helped him get girls and held onto it. It’s great because it gives him a chance to concentrate on the part and not worry about the accent,’ he added.

Speaking to GQ the actor said that the ‘properly fleshed-out character’ drew him to the role.

‘Not just a curmudgeon but very soulful in a way. He’s on the point of suicide with regard to the emptiness in his life. He had sacrificed his family and everything he has for his work,’ he continued.

‘I did a limited amount of research on retired detectives, particularly on the huge suicide rates amongst people who have given themselves over to that kind of work, watched all the detritus of humanity, tried to do something about it and fell short or actually achieved something, but then suddenly they’re not allowed to anymore.

‘At the beginning of the show, Bill Hodges’s family was gone, [along with] that whole notion of a lack of sense of purpose. It’s horrible but fascinating.’

Throughout his career Gleeson has won a Primetime Emmy Award, two British Independent Film Awards and three IFTA Awards, and has received nominations for an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards and five Golden Globe Awards.

He is also the father of actors Domhnall Gleeson and Brian Gleeson.

Mr. Mercedes is streaming on Netflix.

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