The best TV show based on aStephen Kingnovel can be binged in just eight hours.King’s stories have been adapted for the screenfor about as long as he’s been published. His debut novelCarriewas turned into a classic movie just two years after it arrived in bookstores, andthere’s been a steady stream of adaptations since.
There have been a ton ofgreat movies based on King’s work—Misery,The Shining,The Shawshank Redemption— but some of his books have been expanded into TV shows.The Mist,Mr. Mercedes, andUnder the Domehave all been turned into full-blown series, whileIt,The Stand, andSalem’s Lothave all been turned into miniseries.
It’s A Curious What-If Story About A Time Traveler Trying To Prevent The Kennedy Assassination
Actor James Franco as Jake Epping in 11.22.63.
One of the best TV shows based on King’s work is11.22.63, an eight-episode miniseries based on the novel of the same name (although the novel’s title is styled as11/22/63).James Franco starsas Jake Epping, a divorced English teacher who’s given the chance to travel back in time to 1960 by an old friend, played by Chris Cooper.
Jake decides to use this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy. But since Kennedy wasn’t killed until 1963, Jake has three years to build a life in the past, and he becomes so attached to his new life — and, more specifically, his new love — that it threatens to derail the whole mission.
11.22.63isa fresh take on the well-worn story trope of a time traveler getting stranded in the past. It places the time traveler in the midst of one of the most significant and hotly debated events in American history. And by giving him a massive three-year window to plan his mission, there’s plenty of time to explore the fish-out-of-water aspect.
There are many great King adaptations, but11.22.63is one of the very best. The miniseries is the perfect format to adapt King’s books. Movies have to condense a lot from their novelistic source material — especially when dealing with a dense tome like the kind King writes — buta limited series can capture the complexity of a novel.
11.22.63was removed from Hulu, but it’s available to buy on Prime Video and Apple TV+.
So many TV shows have a juicy premise, but fail to live up to its potential in their execution.11.22.63is a rare example of a show that nails its premise. Franco gives a sincere performance that’s well-suited to the historical setting of the story; he comes off like an Old Hollywood star. This isStephen King’s best sci-fi show.
