Almost every Stephen King novel (or novella) is a page-turner. The author has experimented with varying styles over the years: sometimes, horror has taken a backseat, operating like an ominous shadow lurking amid the pages, and at other times, his stories have felt akin to peering into the abyss. Then there are works centered on crime, notably the Bill Hodges trilogy, which includes the brilliant, engrossing "Finders Keepers." And then there are masterful entries that defy neat genres, like "Revival." When it comes to King's "The Outsider," the basic beats of the grisly tale already feel like a compelling crime saga with the author's signature flourishes. Once the police stumble upon the heavily mutilated corpse of young Frankie Peterson in Flint City, Oklahoma, it prompts the arrest of baseball youth coach Terry Maitland -- publicly known as an easygoing family man -- whom the town turns against overnight.

What makes "The Outsider" engrossing from an authorial perspective is the inclusion of official police transcripts that present contrarian evidence, placing us in the shoes of the investigators who are bamboozled by the intrusion of the elusive supernatural. When an adaptation of this crime novel premiered on HBO in 2020, the miniseries boasted a cast with stellar performances from the likes of Ben Mendelsohn, Cynthia Erivo, Paddy Considine, and Jason Bateman, with the gripping story brought to life. Unfortunately, HBO's "The Outsider" was surprisingly canceled after one season despite rave reviews and audience ratings, and even King took to Twitter to express a brief, but firm statement about the show deserving a second season.

This begs the question: what exactly went wrong with "The Outsider" to not warrant a renewal for a second season?