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For many of us in the world today, life is just a way of biding time until Season 5 of Stranger Things is released on Netflix. The writing for Season 5 (which, heartbreakingly, is supposed to be the final season of Stranger Things) began in August 2022, and production was supposed to begin in May 2023. However, due to the ongoing Screen Actors Guild and Writers Guild of America strike, fans are going to have to wait even longer for Season 5 of Stranger Things to hit Netflix. How will we go on?
If you’re anything like me, you’ve been scouring the streaming platforms looking for something to fill the Stranger Things-sized hole in your heart, usually to no avail. You’ve even read every fan theory out there, but it’s still not enough. However, I’m pleased to inform you that I recently came upon a series that scratched the itch—HBO’s The Outsider.
This series, which premiered in 2020, contains many of the same elements as Stranger Things. It’s a mystery/thriller that follows a group of small-town people as they try to figure out how to stop an evil supernatural force before it strikes again. And, much like Stranger Things, HBO’s The Outsider will have you glued to the TV for hours, wanting to watch episode after episode instead of dealing with your real life.
So, while we not-so-patiently await the end of the Writers Guild of America strike and the Stranger Things Season 5 premiere, I’d highly recommend clicking over to HBO Max (which, apparently, is now just called Max) and checking out The Outsider. I can promise you won’t be disappointed. However, unlike Stranger Things, you should be warned that The Outsider is far more mature in terms of its themes and content. It’s probably better not to watch this show with children.
The Outsider Is Not for the Faint of Heart
One major difference between HBO’s The Outsider and Stranger Things is the level of maturity in terms of theme and content. While Stranger Things is probably a perfectly acceptable show for children, I would caution against watching The Outsider with young people (or even adults with weak stomachs). This show includes subjects such as child murder, alcoholism, heavy blood and gore, and more.
In fact, one of the very first scenes shows a child who has been killed by an unknown person or creature. The whole crime scene is shown in gory detail, presumably to give the audience an idea of the maliciousness of the evil entity that committed the act. However, even as someone who loves scary and gory movies, I was a bit taken aback by the scene.
There’s another scene toward the end of the series where one of the characters gets shot in the head, which was rather disturbing. I was surprised by how graphically they chose to show this man’s death. It seems as if the producers were going for shock value with this scene, and they certainly achieved that end.
Of course, the graphic and mature content of this series makes more sense when you consider that The Outsider was adapted from a novel of the same name by the one and only Stephen King, who’s built his reputation on writing things that make you squirm.
The entire premise of The Outsider is that an evil person or thing is roaming around in the world and looking to kill children, which is obviously a very disturbing concept. So, if that subject matter is particularly triggering for you (or you can’t stand heavy blood and gore), then you may want to find something else to watch.
Why The Outsider Is Worth Watching
If you’re willing to weather the shocking and disturbing elements of HBO’s The Outsider, then this show is incredibly entertaining and can definitely help you pass the time until Stranger Things Season 5 comes out.
This series uses the classic murder mystery format. It begins with a murder that’s seemingly inexplicable and slowly feeds the audience (as well as the main cast) clue after clue that begins to illuminate the nature of the crime. Truly, every time a new piece of the puzzle is revealed, the show just gets more interesting.
And, spoiler alert, the show’s main villain is supernatural in nature. However, The Outsider does a phenomenal job of imagining what it would be like if a supernatural entity existed in the real world. Many of the characters in the show, even when presented with hard evidence of this supernatural being’s existence, are extremely hesitant to believe in this evil creature and will look for any other, more “rational” explanation. In my opinion, that’s a very realistic portrayal of how real human beings would act in this scenario.
The authenticity of The Outsider is also aided by some fantastic acting performances from the cast. The show stars Ben Mendelsohn as Detective Ralph Anderson of the Cherokee City Police Department, Jason Bateman (who also executive produced the series) as Terry Maitland, a little league coach accused of killing one of his players, and Cynthia Erivo as Holly Gibney, a savant-like private investigator with an uncanny ability to remember and make sense of minute details.
Holly Gibney Is the Hero We Needed
The first few episodes of The Outsider feature Ralph Anderson as the main protagonist. And, while Ralph Anderson is certainly a hero worth rallying behind (and Ben Mendelsohn’s performance was great), a new protagonist is introduced in the third episode of the series that really kicks this show’s entertainment value up a notch.
Enter Holly Gibney, a neurodivergent Black female private investigator who enjoys a stiff drink and is about to go toe-to-toe with a centuries-old shapeshifting demon. Gibney has an unbelievable capacity to remember details (such as the scores of World Series games from before she was even born), but her manner of socializing is quirky and awkward, to say the least.
Nevertheless, Gibney exudes a quiet confidence that makes her one of the most lovable characters I’ve seen in a television show for quite some time. Plus, seeing her command a room full of white male detectives (much to their chagrin) is absolutely delightful.
Cynthia Erivo (who you may recognize from Bad Times at the El Royale or the 2019 biopic Harriet) does an incredible job in this role. She expertly conveys Holly Gibney’s mix of confident self-assurance and social anxiety. So, it’s no surprise she won Best Actress in a Horror Series at the Critics’ Choice Super Awards.
What’s Next for The Outsider?
While The Outsider garnered mostly positive reviews, Max Chief Content Officer Casey Bloys has stated that they will not be bringing back The Outsider for a second season. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Ploys said, “We try to approach everything as if there’s going to be Season 2. And it’s always a challenge when you have something that is based on a book and obviously with The Outsider you’ve got a great roadmap. So, if you’re going to go and do more without that, you’ve got to make really sure there’s a story to tell. We just didn’t feel like we landed on a story that would live up to the first season.”
So, unfortunately, it seems as if the legacy of The Outsider will end with the first season. However, I certainly respect Ploys’s decision to end the show on a high note instead of jumping the shark (as so many series nowadays do).
