It has been a great year for Stephen King adaptations. On the big screen, movies like The Running Man, The Long Walk, and even The Life of Chuck were all well-received by fans of the iconic storyteller while on the television side of things, there’s HBO Max’s It: Welcome to Derry. That series is based on King’s novel, It and serves as a prequel to 2017’s It and 2019’s It Chapter Two and has also been very well-received by fans and critics alike. Of course, the year of great King adaptations has pretty much ended with Welcome to Derry wrapping up its first season on December 14th, but fortunately King fans don’t have to wait too long for something to fill the void it leaves behind — another excellent King adaptation is making its way to Netflix.
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On December 16th, Castle Rock is arriving on Netflix. The series originally debuted in 2018 on Hulu and ran for two seasons before its cancellation, which was bad news for King fans at the time because not only is Castle Rock simply great television, it’s also utterly unique when it comes to adaptations of King’s work. It might be one of the most underrated of all the adaptations and now it’s getting a new life on Netflix just in time for the holidays.
Castle Rock Isn’t Just One King Adaptation (And That’s What Makes It Special)
Castle Rock is not your typical King adaptation in that it’s not based on any one specific book or story from King’s body of work. Instead, the series is based on the mythology and lore of the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine and characters within the world King has created. The two seasons each tell a different story and follows different characters, expanding on beloved King stories. Season 1 stars Andrew Holland and Bill Skarsgard and centers around criminal attorney Henry Deaver (Holland), who returns to his home town of Castle Rock to represent a mysterious young man found in a cage at Shawshank Prison — The Kid.
Season 2 shifts gears and serves as a prequel to Misery, following young Annie Wilkes (Lizzy Caplan), who ends up stranded in Castle Rock with her teenage daughter Joy (Elsie Fisher) after a car accident. Younger Annie isn’t necessarily as dark and terrifying as she later becomes in Misery, but she’s definitely disturbed and it all comes together in a chilling and compelling way. It’s that balance between the horror and the drama that makes Castle Rock one of the more compelling King adaptations. It also has just enough King lore in it to satisfy the biggest fan of the author’s world and it makes for a perfect watch with Welcome to Derry having ended.
Castle Rock lands on Netflix on December 16.
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