In a surprising move, HBO has cancelled The Outsider, despite the fact that work was already underway on season 2. However, it may not be totally dead. MRC, the studio behind the show, will be shopping the second season to other networks and streaming platforms.
The show debuted in early 2020 to solid reviews, although there were criticisms that it spun its wheels and went on for too long. Plus, a second season didn’t seem necessary since all of Stephen King‘s book had been adapted by the end of the season. It’s the kind of book that would have been adapted into a film twenty years ago, and maybe that would have been the better move.
However, Richard Price, the show’s executive producer, put together a script for how the show could continue, which would revolve around Cynthia Erivo‘s character Holly – a prominent character in multiple King books – and expand King’s universe.
If we’re to see that second season, it will be somewhere else. Netflix immediately makes sense as a new home, considering that MRC produces Ozark, and star Jason Bateman worked on The Outsider in front and behind the camera. There will likely be multiple bidders for a show that has King’s name attached and got good exposure on HBO.
Considering all the King adaptations that have been greenlit in the years since IT became the highest grossing horror movie of all time, it’s surprising to see one cancelled. However it’s unlikely this is the last we see of The Outsider, and it won’t stop networks and streamers adapting King’s work for years to come.
#Peace.Love.TheOutsider
