Premiering August 9 on Audience, Mr. Mercedes starts with a stomach-heaving opening of extreme and unsettling violence, but the 10-episode series based on Stephen King’s 2014 novel proves to be good ride that’s well worth taking.

Part of that comes from the David E. Kelley-showrun and Jack Bender-directed show soon settling in for a slow-burn approach that puts all the pieces and players in place, as I say in my video review above.

Part of the very satisfying TV also comes from leads Brendan Gleeson and Harry Treadaway. The Harry Potter alum former portrays a grizzled and pickled retired Ohio police detective still on the hunt for the Penny Dreadful vet latter’s mocking serial killer, someone Bill Hodges was never able to nab while on the force.

Of course, another major part of the success of Mr. Mercedes the TV series is the source material from the best-selling and much-adapted scribe, who serves as an executive producer here. An indisputable master of horror and suspense, the Edgar award- winning Mercedes novel divulges King’s near perfect control of tone, theme and timing – traits that translate well from the page to the small screen.

Now, even with all the promotion and Comic-Con presence that the deep pocketed Audience has put into it, Mr. Mercedes is not the best thing that the AT&T owned outlet has done so far. That championship belt belongs to the about to conclude Kingdom. However what the Kelly Lynch, Mary Louise Parker and Holland Taylor co-starring series is, for me, is a damn fine flag planter for the dramatic direction Audience intends to go.

So, be you a Stephen King fan or not, strap on your seatbelt and click on my review of Mr. Mercedes for more of my take on the series. And tell us what you think, will you be watching next week?