Plans for a limited TV series adaptation based on the Mr. Mercedes trilogy have been announced. The series will be written by David E. Kelley and directed by Jack Bender. A network has not yet been announced for distribution of the series.
Sonar Entertainment will develop Stephen King’s bestselling novel Mr. Mercedes as a limited series for television. David E. Kelley (Boston Legal, Ally McBeal, The Practice) is attached to write the script and Jack Bender (Lost) will direct. Both will also serve as executive producers, as will Temple Hill Entertainment’s Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey and Sonar Entertainment CEO Gene Stein.
Mr. Mercedes, which King describes as his first hard-boiled detective tale, was published by Scribner in June. The story focuses on a psychopathic killer who commits mass murder by driving his Mercedes into a crowd and the recently retired cop who makes it his mission to bring him down. Mr. Mercedes is the first of a projected trilogy. The second novel, Finders Keepers, will be published by Scribner in May of this year.
“This is an amazing opportunity to adapt a script from material penned by one of the world’s most acclaimed and accomplished authors,” said Kelley. “Mr. Mercedes is a great story that will translate beautifully to the screen if I don’t mess it up.”
