Many ofthe works ofStephen Kinghave been adapted to TV, and one of his most underrated TV shows takes under five hours to watch from beginning to end. For decades, Stephen King has taken readers from all over the world to different places to meet a variety of monsters, both supernatural and human.
The success of King’s stories has led to their many adaptations, both on film and TV, with some of them being adapted more than once. Among them isThe Shining, published in 1977.The Shiningwas famously adapted into a movie in 1980 by Stanley Kubrick, but 17 years later, the novel got another chance, but now on TV.
Stephen King’s The Shining Miniseries Is Less Than 5 Hours Long
In 1997,The Shiningwas adapted into a three-episode miniseries, written by Stephen King and directed by Mick Garris, who had previously worked with King in other adaptations.The Shiningaired from April 27 to June 22, 2025, on ABC, and it starred Steven Weber as Jack Torrance, Rebecca De Mornay as Wendy, and Courtland Mead as their son, Danny.
The Shiningfollows Jack, whose alcohol-use disorder has cost him his job as a teacher and led him to physically abuse his young son while drunk. In an effort to turn his life around and reconnect with his family, Jack takes a job as the off-season caretaker ofthe Overlook Hotelin the Colorado Rockies.
Wendy and Jack travel to the Overlook with Jack, but once there, Danny’s power, “the shine”, becomes stronger, and the evil forces inhabiting the hotel are unleashed.The Shiningtells the complete story of the Torrances at the Overlook in a total of 273 minutes, less than five hours, making it one of King’s easiest TV shows to binge-watch.
The Shining Miniseries Was A Proper Adaptation Of Stephen King’s Novel
The best part aboutThe Shining’s miniseries, and also the most overlooked thing about it, is that it’s an actual adaptation of King’s novel. Kubrick’s film version ofThe Shiningis the novel’s most famous and acclaimed adaptation, and as good as it is (regarded as one ofthe best movies of all time), it can’t be denied that it isn’t a good adaptation of the book.
The Shining’s screenplay was written by Kubrick and Diane Johnson, and they took many creative liberties in the process. Among the many things it changed and did differently were the motivation of the Overlook ghosts, Jack’s personality and personal struggles,Danny’s “shine”, and everything about Wendy, who the movie turned into a submissive and passive character.
Because of all that and more, Stephen King has been very open and honest about his opinion on Kubrick’s take onThe Shining, sharing his dislike of it. For all these reasons,Kubrick’sThe Shiningcan’t really be considered an adaptation of King’s novel, though it’s a great movie, but the 1997 miniseries is definitely a good adaptation.
The Shiningminiseries portrayed Jack as King did in his novel, and explored his struggle with alcohol and sobriety a lot better than the movie, which implied from the beginning that Jack was already on the edge of insanity. The miniseries made Wendy into the strong character she is in the book, and it gave Hallorann the ending he has in the novel.
The Shiningminiseries also respected the novel’s ending, which is completely different and less ambiguous than what Kubrick did in his movie. AlthoughThe Shiningminiseries has its flaws, mostly its visual effects, it succeeded as an adaptation of the novel.
Why The Shining Is One Of Stephen King’s Most Underrated TV Shows
Despite being a loyal adaptation of one of King’s most popular novels,The Shiningdidn’t get the recognition it deserved. AlthoughThe Shininggot positive reviews when it aired, over the years it has been labeled as boring and slow. However, these unfavorable reviews are mostly due to it being compared to Kubrick’s movie.
The Shiningminiseries has a slower pace than Kubrick’s movie, which makes sense given that it took the novel and divided it into three parts. While this is seen as a flaw by many, it’s one of the series’ biggest strengths, as it allowed for better character development and exploration of the novel’s most important themes.
The Shininghas mostly faded into obscurity thanks to the legacy of Kubrick’s movie, but it’s a must-watch for fans of the movie andStephen King– and luckily, it takes less than five hours to watch the entire series.
