Revving & wrecking
Thriller series Mr Mercedes will have tingles running down your spine as a mystery murder crawls out of the grave.
Mr Mercedes Season 1 Mondays (from 14 May) M-Net (*101) 23:05
Stephen King doesn’t mess around with his writing and his 2014 novel Mr Mercedes is proof that “you don’t need to go into the super natural to find horror and terror,” warns Brendan Gleeson. He plays ex-detective Bill Hodges in Mr Mercedes (2017- current), who ended his career with one unsolved case: a grisly murder where a driver used a Mercedes to mow down innocent people waiting outside an employment agency. “Bill is in this terrible depression, a deep rut where he is ready to pull the trigger. This murderer ‘Mr Mercedes’ coming back to life and emailing him has the opposite effect on Bill and it gives him purpose – and that unrelenting drive annoys his excolleagues.” While Brendan has won praise for his portrayal of Bill, he’s got co-stars that he calls “second to none. They make it easy to tell this story”.
Brady Hartsfield (Harry Treadaway, Dr Frankenstein in horror Penny Dreadful, 2014-2016) is a computer repairman by day and psychopath killer by night. He rebels against any form of bullying, including from his mom who is a little “too into” her son. And he takes pride in pushing Bill’s buttons. Alcoholic troublemaker mom Deborah (Kelly Lynch, Meg in drama series Magic City, 2012-2013) is oblivious to her son’s night-time activities. Ida (Holland Taylor, Evelyn in comedy Two & A Half Men, 2003-2015) tries to seduce her neighbour Bill. Janey (Mary-Louise Parker, Nancy in comedy Weeds, 2005-2012) does seduce Bill. Her sister’s Mercedes was also the stolen murder weapon. And Jerome (newcomer Jharrel Jerome) helps his neighbour Bill with cryptic emails from Mr Mercedes.