Bate-and-switch: how Jason Bateman learned to embrace his dark side
The comedic actor has followed impressively amoral work in The Gift and Ozark with a shocking new role in Stephen King thriller The Outsider
Like all good mysteries, new HBO series The Outsider plays it stingy with the key information its early episodes slowly mete out. The showrunner Richard Price has built the script of his pilot so that we’re let in on the full premise piece by piece; when we’re first introduced to area man Terry Maitland, he’s helping out in the kitchen. He’s an unassuming person, well-liked around town as the supportive coach of the town Little League team. He’s a doting husband, a dutiful father and a friendly face in their rural community of Cherokee City, Georgia. It’s not until he’s arrested for the violent rape and murder of missing child Frank Peterson that we realize something might be off about him.
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