The AT&T AUDIENCE network is bringing us a third season of the Stephen King series Mr. Mercedes, and the show just landed a guest appearance from an Emmy nominee and two-time Oscar nominee: Bruce Dern.
Dern recently worked on the upcoming Quentin Tarantino film ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD. That was his third time collaborating with Tarantino, and he was called in to replace the legendary Burt Reynolds when Reynolds passed away unexpectedly before his scenes could be filmed. The image above comes from Tarantino's THE HATEFUL EIGHT.
On Mr. Mercedes, Dern will be playing John Rothstein, "a famous and reclusive writer living on the fringes of Bridgton, Ohio."
Developed for television by David E. Kelley, Mr. Mercedes is an adaptation of a trilogy of novels written by King (Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, and End of Watch). Season 3 is expected to follow the story of Finders Keepers closely and
continue to explore the fallout from the massacre perpetrated by Brady Hartsfield.
The show stars Brendan Gleeson as retired detective Bill Hodges.
Kelley is writing episodes with Jonathan Shapiro. Jack Bender is on board to direct. King, Kelley, Shapiro, and Bender are also executive producers on the show, as are Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey of Temple Hill Entertainment, Tom Lesinski and Jenna Santoianni of Sonar Entertainment, and Shane Elrod and Kate Regan of AT&T AUDIENCE Network.
I wouldn't expect Dern to be on Mr. Mercedes for very long, but it's always good to see him regardless of his screen time. King fans are likely to have flashbacks to MISERY during John Rothstein's scenes, as the writer has a run-in with a "#1 fan" of the Annie Wilkes variety.
The 10 episode third season of Mr. Mercedes is currently being filmed in Charleston, South Carolina, and will premiere sometime later this year.