The Stephen King Remake No One Asked for Has Quickly Proven Itself as a #1 Streaming Sensation

October 10, 2026, 9:30am

When it was announced that Mike Flanagan was stepping up to finally bring Stephen King‘s The Dark Tower to screens in the way it was intended, fans made an assumption that it would become the only thing he concentrated on for the foreseeable future. Then he announced a slew of other movies including The Exorcist: Martyrs and two Stephen King remakes including The Mist and a TV series of Carrie. The reaction was instantly a question of why more King remakes were necessary, especially considering the vast amount of other stories by the author that have not been adapted to screen. Now, all eight episodes of Carrie are available to stream on Prime Video and have shown that even after three other versions (and a stage show) there is still a huge audience out there that have been curious enough to check out Flanagan’s latest and send it straight to number one on the global Prime Video chart.

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Published by King as his debut novel in 1974, Carrie tells the story of a young girl with telekinetic powers who goes from being a tormented outcast with a fanatical mother to the destroyer of an entire town after she is bullied and humiliated by her classmates. The story was a deep exploration of the ever-present themes of high school bullying, domestic abuse, and the effects of isolation in society. The story originally came to screens in Brian dePalma’s famous adaptation starring Sissy Spacek in the lead role, which for many remains the quintessential version of the story. After a movie remake, terrible sequels, and a TV mini-series, Flanagan’s show brings Carrie up to date, adapting the story with a modern setting, including a strong focus on how the internet has integrated itself into the original story.

Carrie Has Found an Audience Even If Not Everyone Is Happy

Whenever the idea of another remake comes up, there are some people who will never be happy with the result. Following the original big screen adaptation of Carrie, it seemed like there was no purpose in remaking what was a mostly faithful adaptation of novel. This was proven with both the 2002 and 2013 versions, but Flanagan has proven that when it comes to adapting King’s work, he is one of the best out there right now. Carrie scored well on Rotten Tomatoes, earning respective 85% and 84% ratings from critics and audiences, with many praising it as a timely story considering the state of social media and the world in general right now. The one thing that seems missing though is the outright horror that was expected of the series. Yet, there seems to be larger things at work in Flanagan’s story as he expands the bare bones of King’s novel to incorporate other aspects of the author’s literary universe.

Carrie is a series that no one asked for but now it is here it has become another example of not judging a movie or TV until it is actually released. This is not a retread of the original movie and makes plenty of changes to King’s novel, but what it does is takes the basic story of Carrie White and ask how does it fit a modern audience and into the world King has developed around his characters that has seen many of them converge within the overarching reach of the Dark Tower. Although it is not explicitly named as such, Flanagan’s version of Carrie introduces the idea that her powers are more akin to those of Danny Torrance in The Shining, with her imaginary friend and the abilities to project her anguish to others and see the dead. Whether this is all part of Flanagan’s larger Dark Tower plans is yet to be seen, but he has hinted in interviews that Carrie “exists on some level of the Tower.” Whatever the truth, this iteration of Carrie has already proven the power of King and Flanagan’s ongoing collaboration, and long may it continue.

Did Mike Flanagan’s Carrie hit the mark for you, or should filmmakers stop remaking the same stories for modern audiences? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.