Posted in: Preview, Trailer, TV | Tagged: Ally McBeal, audience, Big Little Lies, Bill Hodges, bleeding cool, books, cable, david e kelley, drama, end of watch, Finders Keepers, Jack Bender, lost, Mr Mercedes, Mystery, novels, season 3, stephen king, streaming, television, thriller, tv, under the dome

'Mr. Mercedes' Season 3 – Stephen King: "This Is the Best Season"

AT&T's Audience Network's critically-acclaimed thriller-drama Mr. Mercedes is set to return for its third season on September 10th, and now viewers are learning from the author whose works have been adapted for the series what he thinks about the upcoming season. Spoiler? He's a big fan. Stephen King took to Twitter on Tuesday to assure fans that not only is season 3 on par with the previous two – it might just be the best one yet:

Here's a look behind the scenes at the season's production, as well as some preview images (throughout the article) from the series that sees David E. Kelley (Big Little Lies, Ally McBeal) supervising the writer's room and Jack Bender (Lost, Under the Dome) returning to direct the 10-episode season.

Here's a look at the cast of characters in play for the third season of AT&T Audience Network's Mr. Mercedes:

● Gabriel Ebert's (Ricki and the Flash) Morris Bellamy is intelligent, well-educated if not middle class, a volatile and charismatic wolf in sheep's clothing. When he was younger he had ambitions of becoming a famous writer but ended up with a much less exciting life in Ohio.

● Rarmian Newton's (Rise) Peter Saubers is 16, smart and personable, he's a junior in high school and on the college track. From a seemingly happy home, but that picturesque Midwestern life was derailed when his father was disabled during the Mr. Mercedes massacre.

● Bruce Dern's (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) John Rothstein is a famous and reclusive writer living on the fringes of Bridgton, Ohio.

● Kate Mulgrew's (Star Trek: Voyager) Alma Lane is another life-long resident of Bridgton, Ohio, and a compelling force in Morris' (Ebert) life since he was a boy: a bit vicious and a lot smart.

● Natalie Paul's (You) ADA Sarah Pace is the prosecutor on Lou's case. At first glance one might think her soft, but she is a hardcore prosecutor with a strong moral compass. She doesn't support or believe in Lou's vigilantism and refuses to back down from pursuing justice.

● Meg Steedle's (I'm Dying Up Here) Danielle Sweeney is Morris' affectionate yet slightly naive girlfriend who finds herself out of her depth when she questions his strange relationship with Alma.

[All images: Audience Network]

Based on King's Bill Hodges trilogy (Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, and End of Watch), the series focuses on a demented serial killer who taunts a retired police detective through a series of disturbing letters and emails. Knowing he's the only one who can stop the killer, the ex-cop undertakes a personal and deadly mission to stop his murderous reign before he claims another victim.

Audience Network's Mr. Mercedes season 2 featured Brendan Gleeson as Detective Bill Hodges, Harry Treadaway as Brady Hartsfield, Jharrel Jerome as Jerome Robinson, Scott Lawrence as Detective Peter Dixon, Breeda Wool as Lou Linklatter, Justine Lupe as Holly Gibney, Nancy Travis as Donna Hodges, and Holland Taylor as Ida Silveris. Joining them for the second season were Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire) as Brady Hartsfield's doctor Dr. Felix Babineau, Tessa Ferrer (Grey's Anatomy) as Dr. Babineau's wife Cora Babineau, and Maximiliano Hernandez (Sicario) as Assistant DA Antonio Montez.

Though actually the second volume in the trilogy, 2015's Finders Keepers serves as the basis for the third season:

Wake up, genius.

The genius is John Rothstein, an iconic author who created a famous character, Jimmy Gold, but who hasn't published a book for decades. Morris Bellamy is livid, not just because Rothstein has stopped providing books, but because the nonconformist Jimmy Gold has sold out for a career in advertising. Morris kills Rothstein and empties his safe of cash, yes, but the real treasure is a trove of notebooks containing at least one more Gold novel.

Morris hides the money and the notebooks, and then he is locked away for another crime. Decades later, a boy named Pete Saubers finds the treasure, and now it is Pete and his family that Bill Hodges, Holly Gibney, and Jerome Robinson must rescue from the ever-more deranged and vengeful Morris when he's released from prison after thirty-five years.

King, Kelley, and Bender will executive produce, alongside Temple Hill Entertainment's Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey, Sonar Entertainment's Tom Lesinski, and Audience Network's Shane Elrod and Kate Regan.

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