Tag Archives: Mr Mercedes

If We Controlled Your Remote… 8/22/18

Have you ever been at a loss as to what to watch? Too many shows to pick from? We’re here to give you our opinions on what we feel is worth watching. Check it out and then let us know in the comments below what you’re choosing for tonight!

Kyle’s Choice

Tonight, thriller Mr. Mercedes returns for a second season on the AT&T Audience network. In the first season, retired detective Bill Hodges found himself suddenly thrust back into one of his unsolved cases. Brady Hartsfield, the psychopath who mowed down a crowd of innocent people at a job fair with a stolen Mercedes, started taunting Hodges on a private message board, letting him know that he was planning something even more devastating. Hartsfield tried to manipulate Hodges into taking his own life and even murdered the love of Hodges’ life in the process. However, with the help of young assistants Jerome and Holly, Hodges managed to figure out what Hartsfield was up to and stopped him before he massacred hundreds more innocent people. However, in the process, Hartsfield got his head bashed in and fell into a vegetative coma that he was unlikely to ever recover from. However, Hodges vowed that he would keep visiting Hartsfield at the hospital so that the day he woke up, he would pay for his crimes.

While the first season of the series stayed very close the first novel of Stephen King’s Bill Hodges Trilogy, the second season borrows from both the second and the third books. As the second season opens, Hartsfield is in this vegetative state, but that doesn’t mean he’s not still plotting and planning his revenge on Hodges. D.A. Tony Montez (Max Hernandez) is anxious to prosecute Hartsfield, but there’s not much he can do with Hartsfield in his current state. At the same time, cocky brain surgeon Dr. Felix Babineau (Jack Huston, Boardwalk Empire) is being pressured by his ambitious wife Cora (Tessa Ferrer, Extant) to use Hartsfield as a human test subject for a new drug designed to counteract tumors. Over the course of the next year, Bill teams up with Holly to start a private investigative agency called Finders Keepers. As they solve whatever small cases come their way, Bill also picks up the odd repossession job. Meanwhile, the other folks affected by Brady’s actions also try to move on with their lives.

I loved the first season of this series and had been really looking forward to seeing what happens next. I was curious to see how the series could work with Hartsfield in a coma, but the writers have found a really unique, creative, and creepy way to show what’s going on inside Brady’s mind. And even though his physical body doesn’t work, there is a bit of a supernatural element to the series this season that allows Brady to resume his terror from his hospital bed. We will also see how the events of last season affected the rest of the characters – Jerome had a promising academic career, but the trauma of these events may have sent him in a downward spiral. And how will the one person you thought was your friend trying to murder you going to affect Lou? I’ve watched the first two episodes of the season and can’t wait to see more. The one disappointment is that the series only airs on the provider-specific Audience Network, so only those with AT&T U-verse or DirecTV as their TV providers will be able to watch.

At San Diego Comic-Con, I participated in roundtable Q&As for the series, with the series creator as well as several of the stars. Check out my videos from the pressroom at NoReruns.net: http://www.noreruns.net/2018/08/14/mr-mercedes-press-room-at-san-diego-comic-con-2018/

On tonight’s episode, “Missed You,” with Brady hospitalized, Hodges and Holly rebuild, opening private investigative agency Finders Keepers. Brady’s care falls to Dr. Babineau, an ambitious neurosurgeon, with input from his brilliant wife, Cora.

Don’t miss the exciting premiere tonight on Audience Network at 10/9c.

I’ll also be watching/recording Big Brother, MasterChef, Bobcat Goldthwait’s Misfits & Monsters, and The Sinner.

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If We Controlled Your Remote… 8/9/17

Have you ever been at a loss as to what to watch? Too many shows to pick from? We’re here to give you our opinions on what we feel is worth watching. Check it out and then let us know in the comments below what you’re choosing for tonight!

Kyle’s Choice

Tonight, the AT&T/DirecTV-exclusive Audience Network premieres the new thriller Mr. Mercedes, which is based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. The series is set in 2011. Former homicide detective Bill Hodges (Brendan Gleeson, Braveheart) has been retired for two years and still doesn’t know what to do with his time. He spends most of his days drinking, though that may partially be due to the fact that his final case, an unsolved brutal mass-murder, still haunts him. Hodges’ next-door neighbor Ida (Holland Taylor, Two and a Half Men) is constantly trying to fix him, but he’s a stubborn man. When the Mr. Mercedes killer suddenly starts using technology to taunt Hodges, his obsession with the case only gets even more reinvigorated, and he enlists the help of whiz kid neighbor Jerome (Jharrel Jerome, Moonlight) to assist him. Meanwhile, Brady Hartsfield (Harry Treadaway, Penny Dreadful) works two jobs in order to support his home-bound mother (Kelly Lynch, Magic City, 90210). In addition to his crappy job at a dying electronics box store, he also moonlights as an ice cream truck driver in Hodge’s neighborhood. His only friend is co-worker Lou (Breeda Wool, UnREAL, Betas), and the two of them often bond of their mutual hatred of their thankless, bigoted boss.

I’ve checked out the first four episodes of the series, and while I found it a bit slow initially, by the end of that fourth episode, I was totally hooked and anxious to see more. The series starts off with a bang and then resets, slowly building the tension once again as we learn more about the characters, their backstories, and their motivations. I really enjoyed this entire cast — they all do an excellent job of bringing these interesting, well-developed characters to life. If you are familiar with any of Stephen King’s work, you know that there will be plenty of death and creepiness to come, and I’m really going to miss some of these characters if/when they fall prey to Mr. Mercedes! Harry Treadaway is so perfectly creepy, giving off a Norman Bates kind of vibe. There is also a fun chemistry between Treadaway and Breeda Wool — it really feels like Brady & Lou have been commiserating coworkers for a long time. While she’s not in tonight’s premiere, Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds) is also an excellent part of the cast. I wish this series was on a channel that was more generally available so more people could check this out. Hopefully they’ll release it elsewhere soon after it airs for those of us without DirecTV/AT&T UVerse.

I had the wonderful opportunity to speak with some of the cast and the creator of the series at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. You can check out my press room videos at NoReruns.net.

On tonight’s premiere, “Pilot,” two years after retiring, former homicide detective Bill Hodges is still haunted by his last case. When the demented culprit begins to torment Hodges, he embarks on a crusade to bring the killer to justice.

If you’re able to, check out the premiere tonight on the Audience Network at 8/7c.

I’ll also be watching/recording Big Brother, The Carmichael Show, MasterChef, Odd Mom Out, Swedish Dicks, Blood Drive, I’m Sorry, Younger, and The Sinner.
 
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