Erivo plays Holly Gibney, who’s a neuroatypical private eye with a penchant for retracing people’s steps in minute detail.

HBO’s The Outsider is an enthralling show. The first two episodes, dropped as a pair, but The Outsider’s third chapter surpassed the others in my estimation, because the show finally introduced its star: Cynthia Erivo. Erivo plays Holly Gibney, a recurring character in the Stephen King universe. Holly falls somewhere on the Autism spectrum and possesses the incredible, inexplicable ability to recall knowledge about things she’s never even been exposed to. As a child, she was institutionalized and studied, but these days she’s called on by the law for her skills.

“It’s up to people used to doing things a certain way to shake things up and do things to make sure the room reflects the world we live in,” - Erivo  

In Stephen King’s books, Holly is white. But Jason Bateman (who not only co-stars in The Outsider but directed the first two episodes and executive produced the series) insisted from day one that Erivo had to play Holly.

Continue reading the post: Cynthia Erivo is shaking up Stephen King's white world on Mic.