Brendan Gleeson Is Mocked By A Tennis Ball In New ‘Mr. Mercedes’ Teaser

To many, the worst part of tennis is just those tiny shorts you have to wear, but in the case of the upcoming TV series Mr. Mercedes, a tennis ball holds a far more nefarious meaning. Check out the all-new teaser for the show above.

In the teaser, a former detective (Brendan Gleeson) investigates a mysterious tennis ball he finds in his yard with a slyly grinning face on it, as he looks around for the culprit. Clearly, someone is out to make the detective’s life a living hell through a series of bizarre clues that will torment him.

We recently got our first look at the upcoming Stephen King adaptation in the form of a behind-the-scenes featurette, but this is the first official teaser of what to expect in the series.

In the featurette, executive producer/director Jack Bender explained, “I wanted a show that was haunting and beautiful, without being style over substance, because the substance of this show are the characters.”

The director added, “It’s Stephen King writing about the monsters inside the people. it gets pretty dark and out there.”

UP NEXT: See The First Footage From Stephen King’s ‘Mr. Mercedes’ TV Series

Mr. Mercedes is just one of the many Stephen King projects coming out this year, with other adaptations hitting various TV networks and landing in theaters.

Later this month, The Mist debuts on Spike, a 10-episode adaptation of King’s short story about a mysterious fog descending upon a small town, sending the community into a paranoid panic.

Landing in theaters in August is the film adaptation The Dark Tower, an amalgam story based on the author’s seminal series of books.

In September, the latest live-action adaptation of his massive novel It hits theaters, with a second theatrical installment coming sometime later.

Coming to Netflix will be Gerald’s Game, a feature-length film based on the story of the same name, which has yet to receive a premiere date.

MORE NEWS: See Two New Photos From Stephen King’s ‘Mr. Mercedes’ Adaptation

Based on Stephen King’s 2014 book, Mr. Mercedes follows demented killer Brady Hartsfield, who taunts a retired police detective Bill Hodges with a series of lurid letters and emails, forcing the ex-cop to undertake a private, and potentially felonious, crusade to bring the killer to justice before he is able to strike again.

Brendan Gleeson leads as Detective Bill Hodges, along with Harry Treadaway (Penny Dreadful) as Brady Hartsfield. Jharrel Jerome (Moonlight) is cast as Jerome Robinson, Scott Lawrence (Avatar) as Detective Peter Dixon, Robert Stanton (Mercury Rising) as Anthony “Robi” Frobisher, and Ann Cusack (Nightcrawler) as Olivia Trelawney, with Mary Louise-Parker (Weeds) as Janey Patterson, and Holland Taylor (The Truman Show) as Ida Silver. Kelly Lynch (Deborah Hartsfield), Justine Lupe (Holly Gibney) and Breeda Wool (Lou Linklatter) also star.

Mr. Mercedes will premiere August 9 on AT&T’s Audience Network, available through DirecTV.