15 best TV series based on the works of Stephen King

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

"Castle Rock", "Stranger", "11.22.63" and other film adaptations of the master of horror.

15. Lizzie's story

• USA, 2021.
• Horror, thriller, drama.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 5, 9.

Two years ago, famed writer Scott Landon was shot and killed by an obsessed fan during a public event. Since then, his widow Lizzie has been trying to figure out her husband's legacy, because publishers are hunting for his unreleased works, even ready to make threats. But it is much worse that the heroine is now haunted by the ghosts that once tormented Scott.

Stephen King has repeatedly referred to The Lizzie Story as his favorite book. This is quite logical, because in the image of Scott it is easy to notice the features of the writer himself. That is why the author himself took up the teleadaptation script.

The serial version turned out to be, perhaps, too slow. But she is supported by great actors. Lizzie played Julianne Moore, her sister - Jennifer Jason Leigh, and her deceased husband - Clive Owen.

14. Shining

• USA, 1997.
• Horror, thriller.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 6, 1.

Writer Jack Torrance, suffering from a creative crisis, gets a job as a caretaker in a hotel for the winter. Together with his family, the hero moves there. But it turns out that this place contains an ancient evil.

A three-episode mini-series was filmed on the initiative of Stephen King himself. He was unhappy with how Stanley Kubrick filmed his novel The Shining. In the new project, the writer wanted to show how he himself sees the story on the screens.

Still, it was Kubrick's picture that became a classic of cinema. The 1997 version is closer to traditional horrors, only weak special effects fail.

13. Under the dome

• USA, 2013-2015.
• Science fiction, thriller, detective.
• Duration: 3 seasons.
• IMDb: 6, 6.

The small town of Chester's Mill is covered with a giant transparent and impenetrable dome that cut off its inhabitants from the rest of the world. As the government, military and media try to break the barrier, trapped townspeople are forced to do their best to stay alive. A group of brave activists are gradually discovering the city's secrets and discovering what the dome is, how it came into being and when it will disappear.

The plot of the series differs in part from the original King's story. For example, on the TV screen, the dome covered the city for several months, while in the novel it covered a little more than a week. But Stephen King personally advised the authors of the adaptation, expressing his opinion on the changed plot moves.

Despite the high ratings and good reviews from critics, the project "Under the Dome" was losing its audience more and more from season to season. As a result, the final attracted only a third of the total number of viewers who watched the pilot episode.

12. Mansion "Red Rose"

• USA, Canada, 2002.
• Horror, thriller, detective.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 6, 7.

Parapsychology professor Joyce Riordon, together with the owner of the old mansion, are trying to find out what kind of supernatural forces live in the house. On their initiative, six psychics arrive there and conduct a dangerous experiment.

Stephen King originally wanted to create the script for a free-to-air remake of the 1963 film "The Ghost of the Hill House" with Steven Spielberg. But after the writer had an accident, the director took up other projects. However, after he recovered, King did not abandon the idea, and the result was an exciting miniseries.

11. Royal Hospital

• USA, Canada, 2004.
• Horror, fantasy, detective.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 6, 8.

The series is set in a hospital built on the site of two terrible fires. This eerie institution is inhabited by mysterious employees, an ambitious and calculating doctor and a psychic who hears a crying baby in the local elevator shaft. In addition, ghosts can be found here, and the artist, lying in a coma, begins to see terrible events.

Stephen King was a big fan of the Danish TV series The Kingdom, directed by Lars von Trier. Inspired by the project, the writer decided to make a script for an American remake. The mixing of the styles of two such strange authors turned out to be truly insane.

Unfortunately, despite the original plot, the series was canceled after the first season. But if the American version is not enough for you, refer to the original source. Despite the unconventional format for von Trier, "Kingdom" has become one of his most recognizable directorial work.

10. Nightmares and Fantastic Visions: Based on the Tales of Stephen King

• Australia, USA, 2006.
• Horror, fantasy, detective.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 6, 9.

The eight-episode anthology tells individual strange and sometimes scary stories. The killer receives a set of toy soldiers as a gift, the man is paralyzed after being bitten by a snake and he ends up in the morgue, and the couple finds themselves in the city, where the most grandiose rock concert is being prepared.

Stephen King is known not only for his large-scale novels. Over the years, he has released several collections of short stories. Some of them formed the basis of "Nightmares". Each story has its own atmosphere: some resemble children's horror stories, others cause genuine horror.

Those who like this format can also watch the anthology films based on King's works: Kaleidoscope of Horror and Cat's Eye.

9. Confrontation

• USA, 1994.
• Drama, horror, fantasy.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

The most dangerous strain of influenza breaks out from the laboratory of the US Department of Defense. Absolutely all infected die, and only 0.6% of people have immunity. An escaped security guard spreads the virus across the country, and most of the American population dies. Some survivors try to maintain compassion, but others join the sinister Black Man who dreams of taking over the world.

"Confrontation" is based on the longest novel by Stephen King, in which the writer spoke in detail about the spread of a dangerous virus across the country. In the miniseries, the plot was significantly reduced, but still the basis remained the same.

In 2020, a new adaptation of the novel was released - more expensive and large-scale. But many viewers disliked her: in the second half, the series has several problems, and the topic of epidemics, perhaps, is simply boring.

8. Dead zone

• USA, 2002-2007.
• Horror, thriller, detective.
• Duration: 6 seasons.
• IMDb: 7, 4.

After a car accident, teacher John Smith spent six years in a coma. When he regained consciousness, he found that his mother had died and that his bride had married. But John needs not only to get used to the new world, because he has the gift of foresight. Now the hero wants to use it to prevent crimes.

The novel of the same name is not very similar to most of King's works: it rather resembles a fantastic thriller about politics than the horrors typical for the author. And by the way, it has already been transferred to the screens: in 1983, David Cronenberg released the film "The Dead Zone" with Christopher Walken.

The serial version takes only the main characters and the plot from the original, and then turns into a detective procedural: in each episode, the hero and his friends are investigating a case.

7. Storm of the century

• Canada, USA, 1999.
• Horror, fantasy, thriller.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 7, 4.

The mysterious killer-sorcerer Andre Linoges arrives in a coastal city cut off from the rest of the world after a hurricane. The villain calls the villagers and forces them to make difficult choices. Otherwise, they will have to prepare for imminent extinction.

King originally created Storm of the Century as a television script. But at the same time, the writer tried to preserve the structure typical of novels in history. Although, in the end, the printed version of the work was still released earlier than the series.

Linoz is one of King's most memorable villains. This makes Storm of the Century a very powerful, frightening and sad series.

6. Secrets of Haven

• USA, 2010-2015.
• Horror, fantasy, thriller, detective.
• Duration: 5 seasons.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

In the city of Haven, very strange things suddenly start happening. Its inhabitants are endowed with supernatural powers. At this time, FBI special agent Audrey Parker arrives there and rather quickly encounters this inexplicable phenomenon. She is ready to admit the existence of paranormal forces, and later realizes that her appearance in Haven is not at all accidental.

This fantastic detective is based on the little novel by Stephen King "The Colorado Kid". But in fact, the series is quite far from the book: apart from two characters-reporters and a few references to the murder of one hero, there is not much in common between these works. Rather, it is a compilation of several of the writer's motives and hidden easter eggs for his literary works.

5. Chapelwaite

• USA, 2021 - present.
• Horror, drama, detective.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

After the death of his wife, Charles Boone and his children move to Chapelwaite, the estate of his late cousin Stephen. The hero did not communicate with relatives for a long time, so it comes as a surprise to him that everyone around him dislikes the Boon family, considering them insane and dangerous. Soon, Charles begins to have strange visions, and at this time people disappear in a neighboring city.

The gothic series is based on King's story The Settlement of Jerusalem, a prequel to The Lot (aka Salem's Destiny). But the authors of the adaptation stretched out a very small piece, turning it into a slow and very atmospheric story.

The growing madness of the protagonist, played by Adrian Brody, is intertwined with the adventures of a maniac and even vampires, referring not only to the work of Stephen King, but also to the novels of Howard Phillips Lovecraft and Bram Stoker.

4. Castle Rock

• USA, 2018–2019.
• Horror, thriller, detective.
• Duration: 2 seasons.
• IMDb: 7, 6.

Following the suicide of the Shawshank prison governor, his successor opens one of the abandoned blocks. There he discovers a mysterious man who only remembers Henry Deaver, who left Castle Rock long ago. Deaver returns to his hometown, which triggers a chain of mysterious events.

The psychological thriller from producer JJ Abrams cannot be called a film adaptation of any particular work of Stephen King. But many books are compiled in it at once: from "Kujo" and "It" to "Necessary things" and the story "Rita Hayworth, or the Shawshank Redemption."

After its successful first season, Castle Rock has a sequel that tells a very different story. Alas, then the series was closed.

3. Stranger

• USA, 2020.
• Thriller, detective.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 7, 7.

In a small town, a child is brutally killed: he is found torn to pieces in the forest and with traces of human teeth on his body. Detective Ralph Anderson quickly finds the prime suspect - the coach of the children's baseball team. But despite clear evidence, the hero has one hundred percent alibi. It soon becomes clear that otherworldly forces are involved.

Following the original novel, the series combines a dark, small-town detective story with mystical horror. Moreover, the first component is sometimes even more frightening.

It is also interesting that the heroine Holly Gibney (Cynthia Erivo), who previously appeared in the novel "Mister Mercedes" and its adaptation, appears in this project. Alas, the series was filmed by different channels, so the two versions of the character were performed by different actresses.

2. Mister Mercedes

• USA, 2017–2019.
• Thriller, detective, fantasy.
• Duration: 3 seasons.
• IMDb: 7, 8.

Once, during a job fair, a maniac ran over several people in a Mercedes. The police are unable to solve the case in hot pursuit. When former investigator Bill Hodges completely loses hope, he receives a letter from the killer. He plans a new attack, this time capable of claiming the lives of thousands of people. Unless, of course, Hodges interferes with his devilish idea.

The novel "Mister Mercedes" is Stephen King's first detective. There are no supernatural events in the book, only a psychological confrontation between a former police officer and a criminal. Although in the sequels, the writer still returned to his beloved mysticism, which was reflected in the next two seasons of the series.

The dizzying thriller was written by David Kelly, who had previously adapted the feature drama Big Little Lies for HBO. Most of the episodes were directed by one of the directors of "Game of Thrones" Jack Bender.

1. 11.22.63

• USA, 2016.
• Science fiction, thriller, drama, detective.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 8, 2.

The regular school history teacher Jake Epping gets a unique chance to travel back in time to prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy. But soon Jake realizes that the past is against someone changing him. The hero's attempts to direct the course of history in a different direction quickly take a dangerous turn.

A dynamic miniseries from JJ Abrams starring James Franco based on the story of Stephen King's bestselling novel of the same name. The project skillfully mixes 1960s romance with supernatural phenomena while remaining touching and emotional.

The creators of "11.22.63" managed to turn the 850-page novel into eight hour-long episodes, accelerating the pace to the maximum possible. But not only a fan of Stephen King will be able to keep up with him, but also the rest of the audience.