Mr. Mercedes now streaming for free on Hoopla (but no Season 3)

When WarnerMedia announced that Audience Network was being dissolved in May, fans of the hit show Mr. Mercedes were left with a cliffhanger.

Where will I be able to watch Mr. Mercedes? Will there be a Season 4?

Six months later, the first two seasons are on the free streaming service Hoopla. But Season 3 is in limbo for cord cutters because it remains exclusive to DIRECTV.

The ouster of three top executives announced over the weekend at WarnerMedia could make the wait to stream the third season of Mr. Mercedes a lot longer. 

The fate of Mr. Mercedes and three other original shows, Condor, Loudermilk and You Me Her had rested with Bob Greenblatt. He is leaving his post as chairman of WarnerMedia Entertainment as part of a shake-up reported by The New York Times.

Greenblatt’s responsibilities are being taken up by Ann Sarnoff, chief executive of Warner Bros., and Andy Forssell, the general manager of HBO Max. The pair has been charged with the growth of HBO Max, so it’s hard to imagine a critically rated show on a dead network will rank high among their priorities. 

At the same time, networks and streaming services are recycling older shows and movies, and starved for new content. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought production to a standstill. 

Where to Watch Season 3 of Mr. Mercedes

The series Mr. Mercedes was a hit for AT&T just as it was pushing into original content and the streaming market with DIRECTV NOW. That streaming service was eventually re-branded into AT&T TV Now. 

In January, there was talk about shows from Audience Network moving to HBO Max, but that hasn’t seemed to have happened yet. 

So you’re not going to find it on Hulu or Netflix anytime soon. 

How to stream Mr. Mercedes for free

You can stream Season 1 and Season 2 for free on Hoopla. The Hoopla streaming service is carried by local libraries. It’s a little known service in the world of streaming and cord cutting. 

And it’s easy to sign up for once you have a library card. 

You can stream Hoopla on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV and other major streaming devices. 

What’s Mr. Mercedes about?

Two years after retiring, homicide detective Bill Hodges just wants to rest and forget about his work. But one case still haunts him.

A driver that plowed a stolen Mercedes into a line of people waiting for a job fair was never caught. Brady Hartsfield killed eight people, and wounded many more. And he’s loves taunting Hodges about never getting caught as he takes on an even more ambitious plan of mass murder.

Deciding to act, Hodges undertakes a secret crusade to stop Hartsfield’s latest plan and bring the killer to justice.

Stephen King describes “Mr. Mercedes” as his first hard-boiled detective tale. The novel was published by Scribner in June 2014 and became an immediate No. 1 New York Times Bestseller upon its release. Shortly after the novel was published, King announced that “Mr. Mercedes” was the first of a projected trilogy. The second novel, “Finders Keepers,” was published by Scribner in June 2015, and the third novel, “End of Watch,” was published by Scribner in June 2016.

David E. Kelley wrote and adapted King’s novel for television. You may recognize Kelley’s name because of his network hits like “Boston Legal” and “Ally McBeal.”

Kelley has had some big hits with shows made exclusively for premium networks. He created the HBO miniseries “Big Little Lies” and the excellent series “Goliath” for Amazon Video.

Who is in the series?

It’s pretty much an all-star cast.

“Mr. Mercedes” stars Brendan Gleeson as Detective Bill Hodges. Harry Treadaway plays Brady Hartsfield. Kelly Lynch stars as Deborah Hartsfield. Jharrel Jerome (“Moonlight”) plays Jerome Robinson. Scott Lawrence (“Avatar”) is Detective Peter Dixon.

You’ll recognize many more stars once you start watching the series. Even if you’ve never read the novel, it’s a great series to watch.

Can I binge watch the show on Amazon Prime?

If you can’t get a subscription to Hoopla, Amazon is selling Season 1 and Season 2 for $1.99 per episode. You can also buy an entire season for $17.99.

Is Mr. Mercedes on Hulu?

Mr. Mercedes is not on Hulu or Netflix, and it’s unlikely to get there anytime soon. Given the recent shakeup at AT&T, the focus for WarnerMedia is expanding HBO Max.

Will Mr. Mercedes Season 4 happen?

Mr. Mercedes was the flagship scripted show on Audience Network. Kelley is a tremendously respected name in television, so that would tip in favor of Season 4 happening. The series already has a huge following between fans of King’s novels and the TV series.  

But Kelley and the actors involved in the series need to have a schedule that aligns for a Season 4 to happen. And there’s always the global slowdown in production and filming because of COVID-19. Hopefully, some news will emerge in 2020. 

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