Andy Muschietti’s mega-blockbuster adaptation of “IT” kicked off a new boom of Stephen King adaptations when it hit theaters in 2017, but if we were in a boom, is it safe to say we’ve now hit a bust? There are still tons of new King adaptations coming (I’m excited to see Osgood Perkins’ take on “The Monkey” and Bryan Fuller’s horned-up “Christine” update), but the massive hits have slowed down (remember “Firestarter?”), and one major adaptation, Warner Bros’ “‘Salem’s Lot,” is only now coming out after years of sitting on the shelf.
The works of Stephen King will always continue to be rich and entertaining, whether they’re dominating the pop cultural zeitgeist or not. But if one title exemplifies the fickleness of the recent King adaptation boom, it’s “Castle Rock,” a wonderfully complicated, delightfully mysterious King-adjacent series that unceremoniously died on the vine at Hulu despite delivering two great seasons of television.
Castle Rock rocked
“Castle Rock” wasn’t just a single King adaptation, but a sort of ambitious King-influenced world that tied elements of some of his best works into original storylines set in and around the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine. The show’s first season featured settings, characters, and points of reference that called to mind everything from “The Green Mile” to “Needful Things” to “Pet Semetary.” It featured a character named Jackie Torrance, paid homage to the creepy kids of “Children of the Corn,” and ended with a multiversal reveal of “Dark Tower” proportions. Season 2 was even more overt in its references; it featured a pre-“Misery” Annie Wilkes, tipped its hat to King’s beloved coming-of-age stories, and drew liberally from the plot of “‘Salem’s Lot,” all while crafting a uniquely horrifying story.
Alternately a slow-paced mystery and a jam-packed King celebration, season 1 of “Castle Rock” reached its high point with a truly transcendent episode of television. “The Queen,” the show’s seventh episode, told the story of dementia-stricken Ruth (“Carrie” star Sissy Spacek) from her own disjointed, non-linear perspective, weaving together a mosaic of memory fragments featuring herself and Sheriff Pangborn (Scott Glenn, fresh off “The Leftovers”) and culminating with a heartbreakingly tragic –- yet utterly beautiful –- conclusion. At another outlet, I once named the end of “The Queen” the best TV scene of 2018, and I still think that’s true today. “Castle Rock” may be gone, but the incredible execution of this standalone story of love and loss shouldn’t be forgotten.
Why did the Stephen King multiverse show get canceled?
So, why did “Castle Rock” go away? The show was left hanging after its second season ended in 2019 and it was ultimately canceled in late 2020 (back when the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic led to cuts across pretty much every entertainment platform). Some sources, including ScreenRant, have claimed that “Castle Rock” was always meant to end after just two seasons, but that doesn’t seem to be the whole story. For one thing, season 2 concluded with plenty of loose ends, like the status of main timeline Henry Deaver (André Holland) and questions surrounding The Kid, aka alternate universe Henry Deaver, aka the Angel (Bill Skarsgård). For another, sites including GameRant mention a completely different reason for the demise of “Castle Rock”: corporate strategy shifts.
Essentially, GameRant asserts that “Castle Rock” was canceled because it was a Warner Bros. Television-produced show, and WB decided to focus more on making shows for Max (then still HBO Max) than Hulu. That streamer launched in 2020 with an ambitious programming slate, and if it ever had plans to incorporate some version of “Castle Rock” into them (it never announced any), they had probably evaporated by the time of the eventual Warner Bros Discovery merger, which once again left tons of TV shows in a state of uncertainty or cancellation. Now, HBO has its own original King-inspired show in the works, with “IT” prequel “Welcome To Derry” due out in 2025.
Hulu’s mystery box is gone but not forgotten
It’s kind of astonishing that “Castle Rock” got canceled, especially since it featured one of the most stacked casts of the streaming era. In addition to Glenn and Oscar winner Spacek, the show’s ensemble included super-talented “Moonlight” actor Holland, modern genre legend and Pennywise actor Skarsgård, finally-appreciated internet darling Melanie Lynskey, “Captain Phillips” breakout Barkhad Abdi, “Eighth Grade” star Elsie Fisher, “The Shawshank Redemption” actor Tim Robbins, and cult comedy favorites Lizzy Caplan and Jane Levy of “Party Down” and “Suburgatory” fame, respectively. The series found space for each of these great performers and let them do intense character work in a genre that’s not always known for valuing good acting over thrills and chills.
Plus, “Castle Rock” was scary. It build up a cursed mythology around its eponymous town that made every reveal feel extra disturbing, every mystery box element especially uncanny and existential. Executive produced by J.J. Abrams (as well as King and co-creators Sam Shaw and Dustin Thomason), the series had the potential to become the next great genre-blending mystery series. If it made one mistake, it was that its anthology-like approach left viewers impatiently waiting for season 2 to tie back into the more enigmatic elements of the previous storyline. But the second season is satisfying and surprising in its own right, and the show could have easily tied elements of the two together with a third season to cap everything off. The fact that it never got one remains baffling, but that oversight isn’t a good enough excuse for us to forget about “Castle Rock” altogether.
The super-creative show may not have gotten the chance to flourish that it deserved, but at least fans can revisit the creepy town of Castle Rock anytime we please. Like The Kid, we might be stuck in a dark hole (of depressing streaming-era cancellations), but at least we got to exist in the same universe as “Castle Rock” for a while. You can watch the show on Hulu now, or buy the complete series on DVD.
