Mr. Mercedes
Series, 2017, The 2000s and 2010s, Set in Bridgton, Ohio
Mr. Mercedes is #26 of 42 in release order and #17 of 42 in chronological order in the Stephen King Universe.
The story
A demented serial killer taunts a retired police detective with a series of lurid letters and emails, forcing the ex-cop to undertake a private, and potentially felonious, crusade to bring the killer to justice before he can strike again.
Mr. Mercedes recap
Mr. Mercedes (2017) is a crime series about a retired detective chasing the man who drove a stolen Mercedes into a crowd of job seekers. It ran for three seasons and 30 episodes on AT&T's Audience network from 2017 to 2019, adapting King's Bill Hodges trilogy. Brendan Gleeson plays Bill Hodges, a retired Ohio detective who never solved the massacre. The killer, Brady Hartsfield (Harry Treadaway), an ice cream van driver and computer repairman who lives with his alcoholic mother Deborah (Kelly Lynch), starts taunting Hodges online and pushes him towards suicide. Hodges teams up with his young neighbour Jerome Robinson (Jharrel Jerome) and Holly Gibney (Justine Lupe), a gifted, anxious woman with an exceptional memory. Season 1 ends with Brady planning an attack on a concert and left in a coma. Season 2 finds Brady given an experimental drug in hospital by Dr. Felix Babineau (Jack Huston) and waking with the power to control minds. Season 3 follows Morris Bellamy (Gabriel Ebert), who kills reclusive author John Rothstein for his unpublished notebooks, and teenager Pete Saubers (Rarmian Newton), who finds them.
Mr. Mercedes ending explained
Mr. Mercedes ends, in its third-season finale, with Morris Bellamy dead in a fire and Hodges at peace. Hodges confronts Bellamy over Rothstein's notebooks, and Bellamy dies in the blaze. Lou Linklatter takes Brady's old ice cream job, and Hodges, his family and friends settle into a calmer life. The Audience network shut down in 2020 without a fourth season being ordered.
Where to watch Mr. Mercedes
Mr. Mercedes isn't on a US streaming service right now. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.6/10
Where it fits
- Release order: after Gerald's Game, before It.
- Chronological order: after Gerald's Game, before The Outsider.
What to watch before Mr. Mercedes
In release order, 16 Stephen King Universe essentials come before Mr. Mercedes (2017), from Carrie (1976) to Gerald's Game (2017).
Cast
- Brendan Gleeson as Bill Hodges
- Jharrel Jerome as Jerome Robinson
- Holland Taylor as Ida Silver
- Breeda Wool as Lou Linklatter
- Justine Lupe as Holly Gibney
- Harry Treadaway as Brady Hartsfield
- Maximiliano Hernández as Antonio Montez
- Kelly Lynch as Deborah Hartsfield
- Mary-Louise Parker as Janey Patterson
- Ann Cusack as Olivia Trelawney
- Jack Huston as Felix Babineau
- Tessa Ferrer as Cora Babineau
Created by David E. Kelley.