What makes the show in question even more fascinating is that it is based on an acclaimed Stephen King book. These days, HBO is best known for its massive fantasy franchises. However, even in the crime thriller genre, the production company has given audiences some of the best genre-defining shows, like True Detective and The Sopranos.
Unfortunately, among these popular crime thriller titles on HBO, there is one that remains fairly under-appreciated. It only lasted for one season, but did an incredible job of showing how detective shows should be done.
The Outsider Was So Good, It Made Detective Shows Look Easy
Most detective TV shows unfold as conventional “whodunits,” where the primary conflict focuses on law enforcement’s hunt for the culprit of a crime. The Outsider, too, is driven by a similar hook, but the show gradually blurs the lines between its gritty police procedural and hinted supernatural horror to deliver something completely unique.
Even in its early moments, when The Outsider unfolds more as a standard detective thriller, the HBO series is no less compelling than some of the best additions to the genre. Ralph Anderson and Cynthia Erivo also deliver memorable performances as the show’s central anchors, giving viewers a solid reason to stick around for more in the opening chapters.
However, The Outsider truly begins to thrive when its supernatural elements creep in. By the time it introduces the El Cuco mythos, you are so immersed in its realistic procedural drama that you cannot help but feel unsettled by how grounded its fantastical aspects feel.
Instead of throwing audiences at the deep end of its supernatural explorations, The Outsider cleverly uses Ralph Anderson’s character as a narrative device to reflect viewers’ skepticism. Like him, you find it hard to wonder whether the overarching case truly has an otherworldly explanation or if there is still a rational answer waiting to be uncovered.
Interestingly, like most book-to-screen adaptations, The Outsider does not shy away from taking several creative liberties. Despite this, it earned Stephen King’s stamp of approval, who even called it “one of the best adaptations” of his work (via Twitter).
The Outsider Doesn’t Get Enough Credit Compared To Other 2010s Shows
Despite having an impressive Rotten Tomatoes score of 91% and being among the rare few TV adaptations of Stephen King’s works that do justice to his source material, The Outsider never quite received the widespread attention it deserved. Compared to most mainstream shows of the genre and other series that premiered in the 2010s and 2020s, The Outsider remains relatively obscure.
When the show first premiered on HBO, production company MRC even planned to expand it with another season. Reports even suggested that its second installment’s scripts were already prepared and even its cast showed interest in returning for another season.
Unfortunately, HBO stuck to its initial plan of having it as a miniseries instead of a full-fledged long-term show. In hindsight, it is hard not to wonder if HBO would have given the show’s season 2 a shot if it had performed better and earned more mainstream traction.
After all these years, it seems unlikely that The Outsider‘s planned season 2 will ever see the light of the day. However, the HBO show’s season 1 still stands as a gripping, self-contained story that effectively combines detective crime thriller tropes with the eerie essence of Stephen King’s storytelling.