BACKSEAT DRIVER
Stephen King’s continued input is a blessing for Mr Mercedes, writes Rick Bentley.
ADARK and mysterious figure has loomed over the first two seasons of
Mr Mercedes, and shows no sign of going away. The third season will again be presented under the watchful eye of horror writer extraordinaire Stephen King.
The new season is based on King’s
Finders Keepers, the second book in King’s trilogy of hardboiled detective books that started with Mr Mercedes in 2014.
The prolific writer has had so many of his books turned into films and TV shows that his contract allows for him to be an executive producer on productions based on his work.
So far, working with King has been a breeze for Jack Bender, the handson executive producer and director for the Mr
Mercedes series. Bender got to know King when the former was a producer on the ABC mystical drama Lost, a favourite TV show for King. The pair then worked together when Bender was an executive producer on Under the Dome, a TV series based on King’s book of the same name.
In fact, it was King who sent Bender a copy of Mr Mercedes.
‘‘It was Stephen King’s new book and I couldn’t believe it. And he asked me if I wanted to do it,’’ Bender said.
‘‘He saw the first few cuts of the first two episodes of season one and said this is so
good I want to be on it. And he has said that it’s one of his favourite adaptations of anything that’s ever been done. And he loved last season.’’
That’s high praise considering King’s works have been adapted for movies such as The Shining and Carrie, plus TV shows such as Salem’s Lot. In the case of It, King’s book was made into a TV series and feature films.
While the series uses a lot of material from King’s books, there have been changes, including making the second book the basis of the third season. King’s reaction, according to Bender, is that when he sees what has been added to his story, he is sorry he did not include such items in his original writings.
Getting King’s support is a blessing because the writer has been very vocal with his dislike of some adaptations in the past such as The Running Man and
Firestarter. So far, all is well for Bender and company.
‘‘He’s very supportive. I’m really blessed that he really appreciates what we’re doing,’’ Bender said.
‘‘Occasionally I call him with a question and he’s very available.
But for the most part he’s just a devoted fan of the show. So, it’s an embarrassment of riches to be able to call him a friend and somebody I get to work with and maybe one of these days he won’t be as complimentary about some stuff, but so far so good.’’
Even the timing has been solid as the series is based on the murder of a random group of people, a scenario that has become frequent in real life. In the case of the TV series, the aftermath has been a huge part of the storylines.
‘‘There was one thing that I always wanted to deal with and we weren’t able to until this season. That was the repercussions of evil and that when something happens, when you think about these places, these towns where these horrible massacres happen, everybody in that town says, ‘I can’t believe it happened here. I can’t believe it happened to us’,’’ Bender said.
‘‘That’s very much a part of our show. The ripples in the evil pond don’t just stop with the immediate characters and the family. It affects that town. It stains that town, and I think as a nation right now we’re suffering that a little bit, but we won’t get into all that. I do think that it’s great that we can deal with that this season.’’ — TNS
The third season of Mr Mercedes is available to watch on Lightbox.