WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the first two episodes of HBO's The Outsider.

HBO revitalized network television's crime-mystery dramas with True Detective, making audiences think deeply and become investigators themselves via three seasons of procedurals with crazy twists and turns. Even the criticized second season is better than what most networks offer, but ultimately it's Season 1 with Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson and Season 3 with Mahershala Ali and Stephen Dorff that continue to set the bar so high.

However, as much as True Detective is a staple and flagship show of HBO, the network has a new series that in just two episodes has proven it's better than the critically acclaimed drama.

RELATED: HBO's Adaptation of Stephen King's The Outsider Gets First Trailer

With a 10-episode order, The Outsider is adapting the 2018 horror-mystery novel from Stephen King and so far, it's light years ahead of what True Detective has offered. Now, this isn't to say we don't appreciate the slow burn of True Detective but it meanders a lot and many episodes don't move the plot along apart for a clue here and there. It's a lot of exposition which makes for proper character development but many episodes feel like they could be compressed into one without being rushed or losing valuable pieces of the narrative.

The Outsider, though, gets the ball rolling immediately with the story of Frankie Peterson being mauled to death. Within the first 15 minutes, we see his mutilated body and detective Ralph Anderson (Ben Mendelsohn) garnering evidence on the killer. Interviews come along quickly with witnesses in the first episode, "Fish in a Barrel," and soon enough, little league baseball coach Terry (Jason Bateman) is arrested. The key players have been set up and the main families involved have been brought into play with the crucial bit of info coming within this premiere itself: while someone looking like Terry was covered in blood and left the crime scene, the real Terry was at a teacher's conference miles away from the setting of Cherokee City, Georgia.

RELATED: The Outsider Is a Grim Prestige-Drama Take on Stephen King

Off the cuff, you've got your ghoulish villain -- apparently a hooded man that was also seen in the second episode of the premiere, "Roanoke" -- and Ralph barreling forward on the case without having to spend hours collecting clues and hints. Everything's already laid out and now we can just focus on the hunt. And the essence of everything True Detective was is right there: kids being murdered, a child killer on the loose, hints of the occult and something supernatural. The murder, mystery, suspense, tension and scare-factor are achieved in the blink of an eye rather than over several episodes.

The cast of the show is as engaging as well, with Ralph's family torn over losing their own kid to cancer, the Maitlands burnt in the public eye and the Petersons who self-destruct in the worst way possible. With Howie (Bob Camp) as Terry's lawyer coming in, you've got an ensemble just like True Detective, tortured, confused and chasing ghosts. In other words, the foundation True Detective employs is there, but The Outsider is just building its house faster and with just as much quality. The second episode brings this further to light with Terry's shocking murder at a courthouse and also, clues of the killer's hideout, so again, this is something we would think HBO would want five episodes to prolong. But no, The Outsider wants to move at breakneck speed, maintaining style and substance as it remarkably uses Ralph as the cop you love to hate, but can't help but sympathize with -- a trope these shows usually deploy.

RELATED: AT&T Shuts Down Audience Network, Home Of Mr. Mercedes

With Terry out the way, the hunt ramps up so we can go after the real murderer and at this point, it's clear The Outsider doesn't want to dwell as it has a powerful enemy at play. One that seems to be able to shape-shift, one that haunts Terry's daughter's room and one which shows up around town making people kill themselves or others so there's a sense of misdirection that protects his/her identity. In other words, we have a real villain and that alone one-ups True Detective which dealt with ordinary cults with people of influence.

This horror-mystery also holds nothing back as seen with Frankie's most gruesome crime scene and appears to be what True Detective wished it could be. Bateman (also an executive producer) directed the first two episodes and whereas True Detective had a brighter disposition aesthetically, he uses his Ozark style and runs the show awash with a dark palette. That's because this show isn't meant to be cerebral or a puzzle as much as a straight-up manhunt without that many fake-outs (so far). More so, it knows the strengths and flaws of the True Detective series, shaping its story accordingly because time isn't a circle, it's of the essence right now with a killer on the loose. You've got a riveting plot, an intriguing cast and most of all, a monster in typical King fashion that's way more than any man could ever be, and with all these pieces on the board, The Outsider knows taking long to contemplate a next move will frame the series as a pretender or imitator. It already has what it needs to move past True Detective and a quicker investigation with a better villain is what's really setting it apart.

Starring Ben Mendelsohn, Cynthia Erivo, Bill Camp, Mare Winningham, Julianne Nicholson, Paddy Considine, Jeremy Bobb, Yul Vasquez, Marc Menchaca and Jason Bateman, The Outsider airs on HBO at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

KEEP READING: NBC Orders Sitcom Focused On Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's Early Years