AT&T's Audience Network has renewed its Stephen King adaptation Mr. Mercedes for season 2. It's been a pretty great year for King adaptations on both the big and small screens, the box office failure of The Dark Tower and quick cancellation of The Mist notwithstanding. IT continues to add to its massive theatrical haul, having recently crossed the $600 million mark worldwide. Netflix's Gerald's Game also earned widespread critical acclaim, with many King fans citing director Mike Flanagan's harrowing film as a prime example of how to correctly adapt the author's work.
Another King-based success story to come out of 2017 is Mr. Mercedes, a TV series adaptation of the 2014 novel of the same name. Mr. Mercedes has some heavyweight talent behind it, with Big Little Lies creator David E. Kelley serving as showrunner, and Lost veteran Jack Bender directing the majority of season 1. That high level of talent extends in front of the camera as well, with Mr. Mercedes sporting a cast headed up by Brendan Gleeson (the Harry Potter franchise), Harry Treadaway (Penny Dreadful), and Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds).
Related: Mr. Mercedes Series Premiere Review: Stephen King Takes to Crime
Mr. Mercedes' newly ordered season 2 will once again consist of 10 episodes, and is planned to premiere later in 2018. Kelley and Bender are both set to return to their respective behind-the-scenes roles, with actual production on season 2 set to begin in February. The renewal announcement comes just one day before Mr. Mercedes' season 1 finale is scheduled to air.
It's impressive that Mr. Mercedes ended up working out as well as it did, as the show was rocked by tragedy long before it actually premiered. Treadaway's role of Brady Hartsfield - the titular killer - was originally slated to be played by the late Anton Yelchin, who was killed in a freak auto accident only a few weeks after Audience officially ordered season 1. While one still wonders what Yelchin might have done with the part, Treadaway has by all accounts served as an admirable replacement.
Mr. Mercedes is actually the first in a trilogy of King novels that center on retired detective Bill Hodges (Gleeson), with the others being 2015's Finders Keepers and 2016's End of Watch. The story of Mr. Mercedes season 2 will reportedly take inspiration from both of those sequel books, although it remains to be seen how faithfully two full-length novels can be adapted into a single 10-episode season. King himself serves as an executive producer on the series, so he'll presumably be around to offer advice on how best to accomplish that goal.
More: The Mist Cancelled by Spike After One Season
Mr. Mercedes' season 1 finale airs Wednesday, October 11 at 8pm on Audience Network.
Source: Audience Network