Hulu and J.J. Abrams to Adapt Stephen King Novel '11/22/63'

Under the Dome has been a hit for CBS, so it's no surprise that Hulu is looking to get in on the Stephen King business too. The streaming video-on-demand platform will adapt King's critically-acclaimed 2011 novel, 11/22/63.

Producer J.J. Abrams and his Bad Robot production company will team up with Hulu and Warner Bros. TV for the limited series, which will center on "a high school English teacher who travels back in time to prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and discovers the past can become very tricky to change." Abrams will executive produce alongside King, writer Bridget Carpenter (Friday Night Lights) and Bryan Burk (Star Trek, Lost) are all executive producers.

Of course, despite the isolated nature of the narrative, there is apparently a contingency in place for expanding the concept into multiple seasons, in the event that the show is a hit.

“If I ever wrote a book that cries out for long-form, event TV programming, 11/22/63 is it,” said King in a statement.

Abrams added, “I’ve been a fan of Stephen King since I was in junior high school. The chance to work with him at all, let alone on a story so compelling, emotional and imaginative, is a dream.”

Carpenter, meanwhile, notes: “Stephen King is one of my literary heroes. Creating this miniseries from his extraordinary book is a dream come true. My dad, a lifelong Stephen King fanatic, still cannot believe it.”

No word on when the show is scheduled to go into production, but this is the most intriguing King property to get a TV/film adaptation in some time. Naturally, with that potential comes a great risk for failure, since I'm not entirely sure if expanding this into multiple seasons will work, if this proves to be a hit. It's not really working for Under the Dome, which is why I'm a bit leery on Hulu developing this show in such a way that the first season could wind up open-ended. But I trust Abrams and co. to be relatively faithful in their adaptation. If nothing else, this is a great novel with a great story behind it. If they stick to the book, it should make for excellent TV.

Via: Entertainment Weekly

Credit: Scribner