Mr. Mercedes

Starring: Brendan Gleeson (30 episodes), Holland Taylor (29 episodes), Jharrel Jerome (28 episodes), Breeda Wool (27 episodes), Justine Lupe (25 episodes), Harry Treadaway (20 episodes), Maximiliano Hernández (19 episodes), Robert Stanton (10 episodes), Gabriel Ebert (10 episodes), Rarmian Newton (10 episodes), Josh Daugherty (10 episodes), Claire Bronson (10 episodes), Jack Huston (9 episodes), Scott Lawrence (9 episodes), Tessa Ferrer (9 episodes), Kate Mulgrew (9 episodes), Brett Gelman (9 episodes), Nancy Travis (8 episodes), Kelly Lynch (8 episodes), Bruce Dern (8 episodes), Mike Starr (7 episodes), Tammy Arnold (7 episodes), Mary-Louise Parker (6 episodes), Glynn Turman (6 episodes), Makayla Lysiak (3 episodes), Natalie Paul (6 episodes), Christopher M. Hill (6 episodes), Graeme Buffenbarger (5 episodes), Nicole Barre (4 episodes), Ann Cusack (3 episodes), Laila Robins (3 episodes), Bill Kelly (2 episodes), Stephen King (1 episode)
Directed by: Jack Bender (23 episodes), Laura Innes (3 episodes), John David Coles (1 episode), Kevin Hooks (1 episode)
Rating: TV-MA
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Mystery
2017-2019

Seasons Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A retired detective (Brendan Gleeson) is contacted by the serial killer he was never able to apprehend while on the job.

Review:
Tim: I was so excited to watch the adaptation of Mr. Mercedes. I loved the first book in Stephen King's Bill Hodges trilogy. The second and third books weren't nearly as good, but the story was solid enough to suggest a good series. I have mixed feelings about the quality of this series. It made some departures from the books (most notably, doing book 3 in season two and book 2 in season 3), and these weren't bad. And yet, despite the changes to the source material, the end result is surprisingly similar. We got a great first season and decent but flawed seasons 2-3. In the end, there's a lot I enjoyed about this series, but it ultimately lost quality as the seasons continued. I wasn't sad when it ended.

First off, the series' greatest strength is the same as books- Bill Hodges. I loved this character in the books and loved him even more on screen, brought to life by the great Brendan Gleeson. It's hard to describe how much I love Gleeson, long one of our most underrated actors. Gleeson brings so much to Hodges- he's likeable in a gruff, cynical sort of way. He's the kind of character that delivers some absolutely hilarious lines, but has some really sharp edges to him. Gleeson masterfully walks this line, keeping the audience at just a bit of distance, but draws you in so that you learn to care for and love this character. Just like the books, Hodges is the best part of this series. I loved Gleeson's performance and it's easily the biggest reason to check this series out.

King's books are high on character development and that trend continues with the series. Harry Treadaway was excellent as Brady Hartsfield. Hartsfield is one of the most chilling, disturbing characters I've read and Treadaway captures this perfectly. His performance is so odd and disconcerting. It's exactly what the series needed in its "big bad". Holland Taylor was a wonderful addition to the cast, in a role that was greatly expanded from the books. I don't really remember much about Ida Silver from the books, but Taylor's fantastic performance is one of the most memorable of the entire series. She works especially well with Gleeson. So many of my favorite moments of the entire series involve Gleeson and Taylor together. That was a change from the books that was much improved. Jharrel Jerome was solid as Jerome. I liked his character in the books better than his performance in the series, but he was effective. Justine Lupe was a scene stealer as Holly Gibney. Holly was great in the books, but Lupe takes her to a whole other level in the series. She added so much heart and warmth to the series. She was a complex, interesting character and I loved the work she did. Breeda Wool was fine, but the series eventually spent far too much time on her. I didn't find her nearly as interesting as the series expected me to. Maximiliano Hernandez was another departure from the books, but gave a superb supporting performance. He and Gleeson were fun to watch together. Scott Lawrence gave a strong supporting performance, as did Brett Gelman. I loved seeing Bruce Dern during his run on the show. Mary-Louise Parker was a fantastic presence in the first season. As a whole, the cast for this series was top notch. I was already a huge fan of Gleeson before this, but Taylor, Gibney, and Treadaway are actors I'll always appreciate for what they did here.

The first season is excellent because it has a such a strong source material. King's Mr. Mercedes is a great book and it was so fun to see the story on screen. The series pulled from book 3 for the second season. The final book was flawed and while the series makes some big changes to the story, it didn't make it better. I didn't really like the third book all that much, so it was discouraging to see the changes just presented other issues. The second book was definitely my least favorite and it makes for a weaker third season. The book spends far too much time on characters we're less interested in. The third season makes big changes, but has similar issues- Lou Linklatter is thrust into a major role and the series is weaker for it. The second and third seasons swap books, but both are plagued by pacing issues. The stories don't move quickly enough and there wasn't enough to fully focus on for 10 episodes each. I felt fairly bored throughout the second and third seasons. I loved the time with the characters, but I wasn't overly entertained.

In the end, I still look upon Mr. Mercedes favorably. It offered some big departures from the books, but nothing that infuriated me. What was frustrating is that the book made changes of things that were problematic in the books, but just created different issues. The best thing about this series was the cast and I loved that we got to spend three seasons with them.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



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