The Outsider: Ben Mendelsohn takes on conflicting mystery in trailer for Stephen King series

A sleepy town is torn asunder in the latest trailer for HBO's TV series adaptation of Stephen King's The Outsider.

When a beloved pillar of the community — Terry Maitland (Jason Bateman) — is accused of murdering a child, it's up to Detective Ralph Anderson (Ben Mendelsohn) to find out the truth. Unfortunately for Ralph, that won't be so easy, since all of the evidence paints a conflicting story of labyrinthine contradictions. Terry claims he didn't do it, and a private investigator by the name of Holly Gibney (Cynthia Erivo) hints that there is something more sinister at work here.

Indeed, HBO's official description of the series plainly states that a supernatural force involved with the mystery will make Anderson and Gibney question everything they've ever believed.

Take a look at the tense new trailer below and try to decode the case for yourself:

"The Outsider is one of the best adaptations of my work. Hope you'll watch it," King wrote on Facebook.

Bill Camp, Mare Winningham, Paddy Considine, Julianne Nicholson, Yul Vázquez, Jeremy Bobb, Marc Menchaca, Hettienne Park, Michael Esper, Derek Cecil, and Max Beesley co-star in the project, which is being produced by Bateman and Mendelsohn. Bateman (Arrested Development, Ozark) is also directing the first two episodes.

Since Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Shutter Island) is credited as one of the writers, you just know things are gonna get twisty. Richard Price (The Night Of, The Deuce) is writing and producing with Lehane.

"It seems for a while that this will be a story about a crime and its prosecution, but that’s not where this book is headed," wrote The New York Times in its review of King's 2018 novel upon which the series is based. "I refer back to that story from King’s first collection. A rough but regular day — cleaning out a basement — eventually transforms into a battle with monsters. I don’t want to spoil anything, but come on, this is Stephen King. Monsters of one kind or another are what the man does best, and The Outsider delivers a good one."

The Outsider will begin airing on HBO Sunday, January 12, at 9 p.m. EST.