Ahead of AT&T's adaptation of Stephen King's 'Mr. Mercedes,' get a closer look at the crime series' central players.
Ahead of AT&T Audience Network’s anticipated adaptation
of Mr. Mercedes, ET has a closer look
at the crime series’ central players: Detective Bill Hodges (Brendan Gleeson)
and Brady Hartsfield (Penny Dreadful’s
Harry Treadaway).
On the upcoming series, which premieres Aug. 9, Gleeson
plays a retired detective haunted by the gruesome killing of 16 people -- a crime
that remains unsolved. “Every cop gets one they can’t shake. This is mine,”
Hodges says, referring to the “Mercedes Killer.”
That killer is Hartsfield, a demented psychopath who taunts
Hodges with a series of lurid letters and emails, forcing the former detective
out of retirement. “You don’t need to worry, Ma. I’m taking care of us in that
basement,” Hartsfield says to his mother (played by Kelly Lynch) about a secret
plan he’s working on.
Hodges and Hartsfield soon end up in a dangerous game of cat
and mouse as the retired detective tries to stop the killer before he strikes
again.
MORE: Stephen King's Greatest Film and TV Adaptations, Ranked!
Based on King’s 2014 hard-boiled detective series, Mr. Mercedes was adapted for TV by David
E. Kelley, who is fresh off HBO’s hit adaptation of Big Little Lies, with Under
the Dome and Lost director Jack
Bender helming multiple episodes. The cast also includes Moonlight’s Jharrel Jerome as Jerome Robinson, UnREAL breakout Breeda Wool as Lou Linklatter, Ann Cusack as Olivia
Trelawney, Mary-Louise Parker as Janey Patterson and Holland Taylor as Ida
Silver.
Mr. Mercedes is
just one of many King adaptations taking over our screens this summer. First up
is Spike’s take on The Mist, one of
ET’s can’t-miss shows of the summer, and later comes the long-awaited film
adaptation of The Dark Tower starring
Idris Elba and a remake of It.
Mr. Mercedes premieres
Wednesday, Aug. 9 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on the Audience Network (exclusively
available through DirecTV).
