When will Stephen King's Castle Rock be released in the UK? Everything you need to know about the new horror series
Everything you need to know about the horror series from Stephen King and JJ Abrams
Ever wondered what would happen if you melded a mass of Stephen King books into one massive horror show? The answer: Castle Rock.
With JJ Abrams on board as executive producer, this new supernatural series from Hulu is set to rival the horror of Stranger Things with some of the best stories from the mind of The Shining author.
But when will the series be released in the UK? Who is in the cast? And what's the plot? Find out everything you need to know about Castle Rock's debut season below.
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When will Castle Rock be released in the UK?
The first season will arrive on UK screens on the channel STARZPLAY via Amazon Prime Channels on Friday 14th December. It is also "coming soon" to Virgin Media.
In the US, the first season premiered on 25th July via streaming platform Hulu. It has been renewed for a second season.
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What is Castle Rock about?
Stephen King fans will recognise the show’s title as the fictional town in Maine connected to many of the author’s works: Cujo, The Dark Half, IT and Needful Things – as well as novella The Body and numerous short stories such as Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption, which are all either set there or contain references to Castle Rock.
And the new show aims to unite this sprawling King canon through the eyes of death row attorney Henry Deaver. He hasn’t visited the town since a mysterious accident that left his father dead and him the sole suspect, but Deaver is prompted to return after he receives a mysterious call from Shawshank Prison.
The first season "is written very much in the shadow of Shawshank and The Green Mile, and stories dealing with incarceration," Castle Rock co-creator Sam Shaw explained to Bloody Disgusting. But the idea is that it will be an anthology series, so...
Each season will have a different focus
Rather than continue one story, the next season of Castle Rock (if commissioned) will focus on a completely new narrative.
Speaking with Bloody Disgusting at San Diego Comic-Con, Shaw revealed that the “plan was always to approach each season as an unwritten Stephen King novel."
“We hope to have the latitude to come back to future seasons,” he added. “Just tell a great monster story set in like 1974 [season one is set in the modern day] or a different kind of story under the influence of a very different Stephen King novel.”
Who’s in the cast?
Andre Holland, who you might recognise from Moonlight, Selma or American Horror Story will lead the series, playing Henry Deaver.
IT actor Bill Skarsgard will also star – but he won’t be reprising his role as Pennywise the Clown. The Swedish actor will instead play a feral Shawshank inmate who’s found in a cave beneath the prison.
Also starring is Melanie Lynskey (Rose from Two and a Half Men), Scott Glenn (Stick from Daredevil), Terry O'Quinn (Locke from Lost) and Sissy Spacek (the titular character from 1974’s Carrie).
Is there a trailer for Castle Rock?
Yes, and it’s just as creepy as you’d expect.
