Jason Bateman Is A Murderer With A Perfect Alibi In The Trailer For Crime Series ‘The Outsider’
Plus, Ben Mendelsohn as a haggard cop!
Listen, even if you’re a diehard Jason Bateman fan, you’ve got to admit — the man has something of a slimy air about him.
He’s one of those actors doomed by his own handsomeness. He’s just too chiselled; too good looking. If he walked up to you and started being friendly, you’d assume that he was trying to sell you something, or that one of his hands was sneaking into your pocket to snatch your wallet. There are just too few cracks on the surface, which only means that they’re on the inside.
All of that makes his casting as the potential villain at the heart of new crime series The Outsider even more spot on. Based on a book by Stephen King, the new HBO series features Bateman as Terry Maitland, a teacher and baseball coach who has been accused of raping and mutilating a young boy. But Maitland has an air tight alibi — even as all evidence points to him being the one who committed the crime, there’s CCTV footage of him one town over. Somehow, Maitland is in two places at once.
From there, King’s book gets even twistier, full of dark secrets and shocking surprises. By the look of the brooding trailer, the miniseries will follow in those footsteps, as Ralph Anderson (played by Australia’s finest export, Ben Mendelsohn) must try to unravel a case that literally appears to defy belief.
The series was written for the screen by Richard Price, a legend of small screen crime who had a hand in bringing The Wire to life. It was also largely directed by Bateman, who proved himself to be a genuine craftsmen with the underrated Bad Words, his directorial debut. Basically: this is exciting stuff.
Watch the full trailer below, and get ready for The Outsider to drop on January 12, 2020: