Stephen King's Newest Novel Is Becoming A TV Series – And You May Know The Lead Character
Stephen King loves Holly Gibney. First introduced in King's crime novel "Mr. Mercedes," book one of the Bill Hodges trilogy, she's returned in his work time and time again. She came back in the two other books in the trilogy: "Finders Keepers" and "End of Watch." Then she appeared in the novel "The Outsider" and the short story "If It Bleeds." Finally, she got a book of her own with "Holly," the newest novel King published (it came out in 2023; the ever-prolific King probably wrote four more novels in the time it will take me to finish this sentence).
Holly has been brought to the small screen twice already. She appeared in the "Mr. Mercedes" TV series, where she was played by Justine Lupe. Then she popped up again in the TV adaptation of "The Outsider," where Cynthia Erivo played the character. Now, Holly is headed to the small screen again, as a TV adaptation of King's "Holly" is in the works. While speaking last year during a Q&A at Chicago's 2023 Printers Row Lit Fest (via CinemaBlend), Jack Bender, who produced the "Mr. Mercedes" TV series and directed a slew of episodes, let it slip that a "Holly" TV show is on the way.
"I've been fortunate to know and work with Stephen King – talking about writers," Bender said. "His new book 'Holly,' by the way, is great. We're going to make a show out of that. We haven't announced it."
Stephen King's Holly
"... I just love Holly, and I wish she were a real person and that she were my friend because I'm so crazy about her," Stephen King told NPR. "She just walked on in the first book that she was in, 'Mr. Mercedes,' and she more or less stole the book ... And she stole my heart." In "Holly," Gibney, who runs her own private detective agency, starts investigating a string of disappearances. We, the readers, know what happened to the victims: they suffered a rather gruesome fate (I'm being vague here to avoid major spoilers).
Here's the book's official synopsis:
When Penny Dahl calls the Finders Keepers detective agency hoping for help locating her missing daughter, Holly is reluctant to accept the case. Her partner, Pete, has Covid. Her (very complicated) mother has just died. And Holly is meant to be on leave. But something in Penny Dahl's desperate voice makes it impossible for Holly to turn her down.Mere blocks from where Bonnie Dahl disappeared live Professors Rodney and Emily Harris. They are the picture of bourgeois respectability: married octogenarians, devoted to each other, and semi-retired lifelong academics. But they are harboring an unholy secret in the basement of their well-kept, book-lined home, one that may be related to Bonnie's disappearance. And it will prove nearly impossible to discover what they are up to: they are savvy, they are patient, and they are ruthless. Holly must summon all her formidable talents to outthink and outmaneuver the shockingly twisted professors in this chilling new masterwork from Stephen King.
Since Bender worked so extensively on the "Mr. Mercedes" TV series, it begs the question: will the "Holly" series be a spin-off of that? If so, does that mean Justine Lupe (who also reads the "Holly" audiobook) will reprise the role? Or will they start fresh with a new actress? I confess I haven't seen the TV series, so I can't comment on Lupe's take on the character. I did watch "The Outsider" show, though, and thought Cynthia Erivo was great in the role.
There's no indication of where the "Holly" series will end up ("Mr. Mercedes" started on a now-defunct channel called Audience before making the jump to Peacock), so stay tuned for further updates as they arrive.