Stephen King’s 3-Part ‘Mindhunter Meets Silence Of The Lambs’ Thriller Is One Of His Best TV Shows

by

A recent Stephen King series found success by blending the styles of shows like Mindhunter and The Silence of the Lambs, and it worked because it didn’t rely on typical horror tropes. While Stephen King is famous for his horror writing, some of his more unusual adaptations, such as the sci-fi mystery Under the Dome, can be confusing for viewers anticipating a simple horror story.

In recent years, one of the author’s most successful projects felt more like the psychological thrillers Mindhunter or The Silence of the Lambs than their earlier, more traditionally scary works like Carrie or The Shining. Mindhunter, executive produced by David Fincher and based on the true crime book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit, followed FBI agents Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) and Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) as they pioneered the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit.

The 1970s-set film featured a pair of interviewers trying to understand the motivations of infamous serial killers. This approach is similar to Jonathan Demme’s acclaimed thriller, The Silence of the Lambs, which introduced the brilliant but cannibalistic Hannibal Lecter and FBI agent Clarice Starling, who also sought to understand a killer’s mindset. Likewise, the adaptation of Stephen King’s Mr. Mercedes centers on an aging detective’s struggle to catch a killer by trying to think like them.

Mr. Mercedes Was A Rare Crime Thriller From Stephen King

The show initially feels like a gripping crime drama similar to Mindhunter or True Detective. However, fans of Stephen King likely expected a supernatural twist. Given that most of his popular books and stories involve ghosts, monsters, or the paranormal, viewers probably anticipated that the true antagonist of Mr. Mercedes would ultimately be revealed as something otherworldly.

Surprisingly, the show didn’t go in the direction many viewers anticipated. The big reveal in Mr. Mercedes is that it avoids the supernatural horror often found in Stephen King’s novels. Those hoping for something like Evil Dead might be let down, but everyone else enjoyed a fantastic, realistic crime thriller by a skilled author.

The Unofficial Mr. Mercedes Follow-up Brought Back Stephen King’s Usual Genre

Stephen King isn’t typically associated with crime thrillers, but Mr. Mercedes is a gripping and clever series that stands alongside shows like Mindhunter, The Silence of the Lambs, and the excellent Hannibal. The show was greatly enhanced by strong performances from Brendan Gleeson as Bill Hodges and Justine Lupe (from Succession) as Holly Gibney. Even after these lead actors moved on, the show continued to be well-received with its subsequent seasons.

Following the success of Mr. Mercedes, the character Holly Gibney returned in a new role in HBO’s 2020 adaptation of Stephen King’s The Outsider. While the series begins similarly to Mr. Mercedes, with a gripping murder mystery and courtroom scenes, it ultimately evolves into a more traditional horror story, reminiscent of King’s classic novel It.

As a big Stephen King fan, I really appreciated how Mr. Mercedes shook things up. Sure, the follow-up series was great too, but Mr. Mercedes gets my vote for being the one that really surprised us. After years of ghosts, monsters, and fantastical worlds, King dove headfirst into a gritty, realistic crime thriller. It reminded me a lot of shows like Mindhunter and The Silence of the Lambs – proving King could nail a grounded, suspenseful story just as well as anything else he’s done.

Read More

2026-05-26 02:38