The Best Stephen King TV Show You’ve Never Heard Of

Although there is always an abundance of Stephen King adaptations, there is only one hidden gem on HBO that qualifies as the best TV show based on his works. The show in question premiered five years ago and instantly became a hit among viewers and critics. Despite earning critical acclaim, however, it remains surprisingly obscure.

Movies that adapt Stephen King’s books are often hit or miss. Considering how The Monkey, The Life of Chuck, and The Long Walk have earned rave reviews from critics, it would be fair to say that the success of Stephen King adaptations on the big screen has significantly improved in recent times. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about Stephen King TV shows.

Almost all recent shows based on Stephen King’s novels have earned average critical ratings at best. In the last few years, only one series adapted from the author’s works has managed to perform incredibly well among critics. The series proves that Stephen King’s novels can translate well to the small screen and deserves a lot more attention than it received when it first premiered.

Stephen King’s The Outsider Is A Crime Drama, Not A Horror

Image via MovieStillsDB

For the most part of its runtime, The Outsider unfolds less like a typical Stephen King horror adaptation and more like a police procedural crime drama. The Outsider does deliver some chills and thrills as it creates an immersive atmosphere for viewers with its setting and even gradually uncovers supernatural undertones.

However, calling it a typical horror show would be a little unfair because its primary appeal comes from its intricate crime thriller storytelling and slow-burning murder-mystery tension. The Outsider also seems reminiscent of HBO’s True Detective because of how it emphasizes the central murder mystery as its main plot device but treats supernatural elements as an afterthought.

Why The Outsider Is The Best Stephen King TV Adaptation

Television adaptations of Stephen King’s works have not exactly set a high bar. Only a handful of shows, like Castle Rock, Mr. Mercedes, 11.22.63, and The Stand (1984), are considered decent takes on Stephen King’s works because of their ability to capture the author’s original vision from his books. However, almost all other TV takes on the author’s works have fallen flat.

The Outsider stands as a modern exception not only because of how it manages to hold a viewer’s attention like a Stephen King novel but also because of how it cleverly drifts away from the source material to give it a compelling David Fincher-esque moodiness and psychological depth.

Given how The Outsider succeeds at brilliantly bringing the original Stephen King book to the small screen, it is not surprising that Stephen King, too, could not help but sing praises for it. The author agreed (via Cinemablend) that the series is “one of the best adaptations” of his work, which is the highest acclaim a show can receive from its original writer.

Why You Haven’t Heard Of The Outsider

Unlike many commercially successful shows that gradually build an audience across multiple seasons, The Outsider only lasted for one installment. From the beginning, it was touted as a miniseries with a self-contained narrative, which seemingly held it back from garnering more mainstream attention.

The Outsider‘s slow-burn approach and genre-blending also do not make it every viewer’s cup of tea. Soon after it ended its run in March 2020, The Outsider was also seemingly overshadowed by Netflix’s Tiger King documentary, which went incredibly viral. Owing to this, even after all these years, the Stephen King show remains lesser-known and deserves more recognition.