AT&T’s Audience Network has renewed Mr. Mercedes for a third season. The show is based off Stephen King’s Bill Hodges trilogy, taking the name from the first novel. Books two and three are Finders Keepers and End of Watch, respectively. The show is considered a solid adaption of King’s work and currently sits at an impressive 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. Due to the overwhelmingly positive response, AT&T is showing no plans of bringing the series to an end.
Mr. Mercedes follows retired police detective Bill Hodges (Brendan Gleeson) and his mission to finally take down serial killer Brady Hartsfield (Harry Treadaway). While season 1 took inspiration from the first novel, season 2 adapted plotlines from both the second and third novels. Much like the books, the TV show switched genres, turning from a thriller grounded in reality, to one with supernatural elements. For fans of the trilogy (or any King works for that matter) the twist wasn’t much of a shock. But for viewers tuning in week after week to enjoy the crime thriller, the change undoubtedly seemed out of left field, not that it stopped anybody from watching.
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Season 2 ended just a few weeks ago but AT&T already has plans for a third. Deadline reports that production will begin in early 2019 with the season airing later that year. Daniel York, senior executive vice president and chief content officer for AT&T voiced his excitement, saying:
“Mr. Mercedes has resonated with such a wide audience, so we’re thrilled to bring it back for a third season for our customers. David E. Kelley, Jack Bender and Sonar have crafted a series that honors the original work by Stephen King and we can’t wait to see where they take the show in a ‘post-Mr. Mercedes world.’”
Season 3 will once again consist of 10 episodes. David E. Kelley (Big Little Lies) is returning as showrunner while Jack Bender (Lost) will once again direct. Stephen King will be returning as an executive producer along with Kelley, Bender, Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey from Temple Hill Entertainment, Tom Lesinski and Jenna Santoianni from Sonar Entertainment, and Shane Elrod and Kate Regan of AT&T Audience Network.
What’s in store for audiences will be a mystery, even to fans of the books. Season 2 decided to forgo much of the second novel to focus on the cat-and-mouse game between Hodges and Hartsfield that took place in book three. Having more or less reached the end of the novels, the next question is where does the show go from here. It is entirely possible that the next season could dedicate more time to Finders Keepers, a detective agency opened by Hodges and friend Holly Gibney (Justine Lupe). Through Finders Keepers, the writers can spend more time exploring the friendship between Hodges and Gibney as well as create a new big bad for Hodges to outmaneuver. For the time being, fans will have to settle for knowing that Mr. Mercedes isn’t going anywhere.
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Source: Deadline