Stephen King Says His Most Overlooked Adaptation Is This 2017 Show on Peacock

Stephen King is the most adapted author of the past several decades, but even his books-based shows and movies might go unnoticed, and, according to King himself, those are some of the best adaptations his novels ever received.

With a bunch of successful flicks that remain pure gems of the horror genre, the writer keeps collaborating with various filmmakers, and even though he might not like the final outcome after all, King still won’t shy away from gushing over a movie or a show that stayed faithful to his book’s idea.

This was the case for a 2017 crime drama series based on one of King’s most renowned stories, and, despite its critical acclaim, King himself believes that the show deserved better.

Stephen King Wishes Viewers Would Be More Interested in Mr Mercedes

It might seem weird that a show helmed as yet another adaptation of King’s acclaimed story didn’t get flooded with attention by default, but this is what happened to the Jack Bender-directed crime drama series Mr Mercedes.

Based on King’s Bill Hodges novel trilogy, the show was released back in 2017 and was expected to be met with anticipation, though there was nothing like this that the author could notice.

In an interview with The New York Times (via Far Out Magazine), King revealed he was devastated to see the show being ignored by the audiences.

“It was like we brought a stadium show to a coffee shop”, the writer joked, adding that he himself had actually liked Mr Mercedes and wished more people had taken the time to see it too.

Mr Mercedes Received a Second Chance After Moving to Peacock

Initially helmed by Audience Network, Mr Mercedes found its new streaming home on Peacock back in 2020, roughly a year after having its third and so far last season released.

This came as a defining moment for the show that, according to its director Jack Bender, was really good, but had no luck with the audience, or, better say, the lack of it; Bender felt especially bad for Mr Mercedes’ lead actors who should’ve gained more recognition after starring in the series.

“I’m thrilled that it’s gonna finally get the audience it deserved on Peacock”, he then added, discussing the deal the team had with the streamer back in the day.

Despite the show being hidden away from wider audiences, Mr Mercedes remains one of the highest-rated projects based on Stephen King’s book: the series has an overall critical score of 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, while its second season stands out as the one to garner 100% of positive reviews.