A quiet Georgia town is shaken by the horrific murder of an 11-year-old boy, but what begins as an open and shut case complete with witnesses and DNA evidence, unravels into a strange and supernatural mystery led by a skeptical detective, Ralph Anderson.
Based on a Stephen King novel by the same title and starring big names such as Ben Mendelsohn, Jason Bateman, and Cynthia Erivo, HBO’s hit series The Outsider has been frightening and intriguing audiences since mid-January. Here is a list of 10 differences between the book and the television series. Warning: If you aren’t caught up on the series yet - there will be spoilers.
Location
A noticeable but ultimately unimportant change made between the book and the adapted television series is the location. The novel makes it clear that the murder takes place in Detective Ralph Anderson’s (Ben Mendelsohn) hometown of Flint City, Oklahoma.
Throughout the book, various references to other surrounding cities are made, but the exact location names are primarily inconsequential to the plot. The television series opted to change the setting from Oklahoma to Georgia, but still keeps some of the other places the same, such as the Maitland family’s vacation to visit Terry’s father in Dayton, Ohio.
The Pacing
One of the biggest mysteries for readers of The Outsider is not who the true murderer is, but if the novel is going to fit the supernatural horror genre that Stephen King readers have come to expect. The book had many fans baffled, as more than half of the book passed purely as a gritty, procedural, crime drama before King even hinted at the possibility of the supernatural being involved.
The television series takes a much more straight forward approach, condensing the first half of the book into a mere two episodes, and letting audiences know fairly early on what kind of show this is going to be.
Names
One of the more noticeable differences between the book and the show is the rampant altering of main character names. Murder suspect, Terry Maitland’s (Jason Bateman) name was untouched, but his wife and daughters’ names went from Marcy, Sarah and Grace in the book, and were changed to “Glory”, “Maya”, and “Jessa” for the series.
The Maitland family lawyer and friend, Howie Gold, has his surname changed to “Saloman” for the series. Additionally, the pregnant detective Betsy Riggins is changed to “Tamika Collins”, and resident DA Bill Samuels has been changed to “Kenneth Hayes”.
Derek Anderson
One of the most drastic and heart-wrenching differences is the fate of Ralph’s son, Derek Anderson. The novel has the boy largely out of the picture, safely tucked away at summer camp during the murder and arrest of Terry Maitland, the boy’s ex-Little League coach. The series, however, takes a dark turn, as Derek recently died of cancer.
While this doesn’t change Ralph’s actions, it does affect his motivations and headspace, especially during the scene of Terry’s arrest and subsequent interrogations. The mandated therapy sessions and flashbacks of Ralph’s past drinking problem during the grieving process also add a layer of depth to his character that may not have been as present in the novel.
Terry Maitland’s Death
Though the two scenes are very similar, there are a few notable differences between what happens in the book and what is seen in the show during the shocking moment of Terry Maitland’s death. While the show only has him shot in the throat and the book has him hit twice - once in the neck and once in the stomach, the main difference is what happens next.
Knowing that there is no saving Terry from his wounds, the novel has a frantic Ralph ask Terry to confess to the crime and clear his conscience with his dying breaths. In the series, Ralph doesn’t ask him at all, instead, Terry insists that he’s innocent without any prompting.
Jeannie and Jessa’s Visions
Episode 3 “Dark Uncle”, introduces the audience to the details of Jessa Maitland’s “dream” of a man in her room who has a menacing message for Ralph. The book has her tell Ralph directly, but in the show, Jessa is more comfortable speaking to his wife, Jeannie (Mare Winningham).
Episode 5 “Tear-Drinker” takes another supernatural turn in the form of Jeannie’s own “visions” of the menacing, hooded figure with a similar threat to Ralph’s life if he refuses to drop the Maitland case. The novel makes it clear from the description of the figure’s tattoos that the hooded figure resembles Claude Bolton, but the show did not make that apparent right away.
Bill Hodges
The “Bill Hodges Trilogy” is another set of murder mysteries authored by Stephen King. It includes the titles - Mr. Mercedes (which sparked its own, unrelated television series starring Brendan Gleeson), Finders Keepers, and End of Watch. This trilogy is not only set in the same universe as The Outsider, but it is also the introduction to a familiar character - Holly Gibney.
The trilogy teams up retired private investigator Bill Hodges and Holly Gibney as crime-solving partners. While enormously important to her character development in the books, Bill Hodges’ existence and his role in Holly’s life are not mentioned in HBO’s The Outsider.
Holly Gibney
The novel describes Holly Gibney as a pale woman in her mid 40’s to 50’s, with prematurely graying hair. Her backstory as a clinically anxious woman from a well-to-do family is delved into with more depth in the Mr. Mercedes novel and its sequels. Holly is extremely intelligent in both the books and the HBO series.
Her tendencies to hyper fixate on certain subjects (cinema in the book, sports in the show) and her difficulty with social interactions lead many fans of the books to assume that character may have autism, though King never definitively stated this. The show cast a much younger Cynthia Erivo as Holly Gibney, and while she shares many traits with book-Holly, the show hints that there may be a supernatural explanation for Holly’s quirks.
Holly’s Theory
The book has Holly presenting her theory for just who or what this potential “outsider” is in the form of a classic, Mexican, monster movie - Rosita Luchadora e Amigas Conocen El Cuco. The name of the mysterious entity is confirmed by the film title, as well as by Detective Yune Sablo, who had heard the terrifying myth of the “grief eater” as a child.
The television series has Holly giving a beat-by-beat presentation based on her research about Heath Hofstadter and Maria Caneles, two people she believes to be previous victims of this “outsider”. Ralph finds the explanation equally as unbelievable in both the book and the show.
Andy Katcavage
Stephen King chooses to have Holly Gibney doing much of her research and sleuthing alone. This works well in book form with the benefit of King’s extensive narrative, but lonely busy-work is less interesting in the more visual medium that is television.
Created from nothing by the show writers to give Holly a unique past separate from the novels, as well as to broaden her social circle, Andy Katcavage (Derek Cecil) is an ex-detective and Holly’s friend and love interest. His character not only helps her to put together pieces of the unsettling mystery but provides emotional support throughout the case.
