Stephen King Sci-Fi Thriller Series Becomes A Top 5 Netflix Hit, 10 Years Later

Stephen King’s IT franchise took over TV thanks to the hit series IT: Welcome To Derry, and Pennywise fans are eagerly hoping we see more of that franchise and world in 2026 and beyond. While It: Welcome to Derry was a hit for HBO Max, one of King’s previous Sci-Fi thrillers from 10 years ago has also become a major hit, but this time on Netflix.

Back in 2011, Stephen King released a novel titled 11/22/63, and that novel was adapted for TV under the name 11.22.63 by J.J. Abrams. 10 years after its release, the series has become a Top 5 hit on Netflix, as it landed at number 4 on Netflix’s Top 10 Shows chart. It’s in good company, as the only shows ahead of it are Stranger Things (no. 3), Run Away (no. 2), and HIS & HERS (no. 1). Rounding out the top 5 are Marcello Hernandez: American Boy (no. 4) and WWE Raw (no. 5).

What Is Stephen King’s 11.22.63 Actually About?

11.22.63 stars James Franco and Chris Cooper in the roles of Jake Epping (Franco) and Al Templeton (Cooper), who are friends living in the town of Lisbon Falls, Maine. One day, Jake sees Al coming from the back of the diner they frequent coughing up blood, and he tells Jake to go through a closet in the diner. Jake does just that, only to realize that walking through that closet has taken him to the year 1960.

Al reveals that he’s been using this portal to try to stop the assassination of JFK. Al feels that the only way to prevent his loved ones from dying in Lyndon B. Johnson’s Vietnam War is to change history and protect JFK, and he begs Jake to take up his goal. He also reveals that he was diagnosed with cancer in the ’60s, so he doesn’t have much time left. When he ultimately dies, Jake goes to try to make that goal happen to see if he can change history and save Al, but time has other plans.

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11.22.63 has a critics’ rating of 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, with 53 fresh ratings and 11 rotten. The film has an even more impressive 88% in the audience score. The cast includes Franco, Cooper, Sarah Gadon, Lucy Fry, Daniel Webber, George MacKay, Cherry Jones, T.R. Knight, Josh Duhamel, and Anette O’Toole.

You can now stream 11.22.63 on Netflix.

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