Stephen King may be the most popular author of his generation, as there certainly isn’t another writer who has inspired as many great movies. While there are a few adaptations like The Dark Tower and Maximum Overdrive that have been perceived as massive disappointments, films based on King novels and short stories like The Shawshank Redemption, The Shining, Stand by Me, Misery, The Dead Zone, and The Green Mile are often cited when discussing the greatest films ever made.
King often writes about supernatural, horror, and mystery themes that are often better suited to be depicted in prestige television shows. The extended time that these shows have to develop nuanced stories and flesh out their worldbuilding give them an opportunity to bridge a greater connection with their audience, in the same way that King’s novels do. Here are the ten best shows to watch if you love Stephen King movies.
10 ‘The Leftovers’ (2014-2017)
Created by Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta
Image via HBO
The Leftoversis a deeply existentialist science fiction drama that explores themes of faith, spirituality, and familial trauma, all of which are prominent in many of King’s best novels. One of the aspects of King’s writing that continues to draw in readers is the attention-to-detail in which he crafts his world; The Leftovers does a great job at expanding its mythology over the course of three excellent seasons, serving as one of the rare shows that ends as perfectly as it begins.
The Leftovers contain frequent plot twists and turns that may catch viewers off guard, even if King fans are accustomed to watching material that surprises them. As with any of the best novels written by King, The Leftovers is often at its best when focusing on sensitive human characters that the audience can relate to on a personal level.
Mr. Robotis a grounded drama that examines the overreliance on technology and consequences of corporate greed, but it flirts with supernatural and surrealist qualities in some of its most devastating episodes. Any fan of King’s films and books loves a good scare, and there are certainly moments in Mr. Robot where it transforms from being a psychological thriller to being an all-out horror film.
Mr. Robot is unique in that it has an unreliable narrator, as the character of Elliot Alderson (Rami Malek) frequently lies to the viewers because of his mental health disorders and the trauma that he experienced growing up with his father Edward (Christian Slater). The notion of a protagonist who is not entirely honest with the audience is something relevant in many of King’s best books, including The Shining, Christine, and The Outsider among many others.
8 ‘Twin Peaks’ (1990-2017)
Created by Mark Frost and David Lynch
Image via ABC
Twin Peaksmay be the greatest supernatural mystery series of all-time, as David Lynch created a groundbreaking new way of making television that had an instant “water cooler effect” on viewers who were keen to break down what each new revelation meant on a daily basis.
Although it begins in a version of reality that is not that unusual compared to other mystery shows, Twin Peaks developed a rich mythology relating to the existential battle between good and evil, a concept King has touched on in The Dark Tower, The Shining, and It. Twin Peaks is also one of the scariest shows ever made, as Lynch ended up creating a truly terrifying television villain in Frank Silva’s BOB, a demonic entity who has the power to corrupt innocent people like Leland Palmer (Ray Wise) and get them to commit acts of horrific violence.
7 ‘Legion’ (2017-2019)
Created by Noah Hawley
Image via FX
Legion is unlike any other superhero show, as it is more interested in exploring mental health and the human condition than in setting up crossovers with the rest of the X-Men franchise and the larger Marvel universe. Legion proved to be more than just a standard story of good and evil, as the protagonist, David Haller (Dan Stevens), proves very early on that he has a haunting dark side that is waiting to be unleashed.
Legion frequently featured shocking moments of body horror and suspense that could be compared to many of King’s novels, as the show frequently delves into David’s nightmares and shows what they would look like in reality. However, the series also focused on themes of maturation and “found family” that represent the more wholesome side of storytelling that is often at the center of King’s most beloved work.
6 ‘Primal’ (2019-Present)
Created by Genndy Tartakovsky
Image via Adult Swim
Primal was a groundbreaking achievement in animation that took a chance on an unusual central relationship and period in fantasy. King is often praised for putting non-traditional heroes at the center of his stories, as he does not conform to the standard archetypes that most authors seem to abide by; similarly, Primal proved that animation could be intended for a far more mature audience with this epic story of family and fear in the prehistoric era.
Primal was a particularly game-changing show for Adult Swim, a network that has generally been centered on more comedic programming like Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Sealab 2021. While King has yet to write a novel about prehistory and dinosaurs, the immaculate visual design, depthful character relationships, and eye-popping animation style of Primal certainly seem like it would meet with his approval.
5 ‘Lost’ (2004-2010)
Created by J.J. Abrams, Jeffery Lieber, and Damon Lindelof
Image via ABC
Lost is the definitive science fiction mystery show for a generation, as Damon Lindelof created a dense world that had viewers glued to their televisions for six years as they desperately tried to unpack the secrets that were revealed each week. Although the reactions to the series finale were mixed at best, Lost deserves credit for tying many different aspects of genre storytelling into one complete package.
As with many of King’s novels, Lost is just as focused on its characters as it is on its story, as the performances were able to excel even when the writing got a little bit weak. While there are certainly a few moments where it feels as if the show lost its voice, Lost at its best was better than a majority of what else was on television at any given moment.
4 ‘The Last of Us’ (2023-Present)
Created by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann
Image via HBO
The Last of Us sought to radically reinvent what audiences expected from a video game adaptation, and ended up telling a mature story about what it would be like to survive amidst an apocalyptic event. Thanks to a powerful performance by Pedro Pascal, The Last of Us succeeded in telling a powerful story about grief, addiction, and societal collapse that was grounded within the format of a zombie show.
There are many visual parallels to King’s work in The Last of Us, including an invasion scene lifted straight out of The Mist and a haunting moment of cannibalism reminiscent of The Dark Half. While it doesn’t always make for a pleasant watch because of the sheer level of disturbing material, The Last of Us makes an argument for the future of television by merging great genre storytelling with a prestigious level of craftsmanship and performances.
Station Eleven features an eerily prescient storyline about how humanity would survive an international pandemic that forces survivors to willfully isolate themselves so as to not accidentally spread any diseases; while it was based on a novel that was written long before the COVID-19 virus became a reality in early 2020, it’s hard not to see Station Eleven as a parallel to the lockdowns during this era in history.
Station Eleven makes the argument that art should be treated as a public service that can provide people with hope , particularly in trying times when many people are struggling. Support for artists and their efforts to be original is something that King has always stood for, so it is likely that fans of his work would connect with the themes that Station Eleven lays out in such beautiful detail over the course of its single brilliant season.
2 ‘Chernobyl’ (2019)
Created by Craig Mazin
Image via HBO
Chernobyl is just as scary as any adaptation of King’s novels, but there’s nothing supernatural about it at all. Craig Mazer’s brilliant historical series explored the aftermath of a real nuclear meltdown that resulted in significant civilian casualties and irreversible environmental damage; it has been cited as one of the single greatest drama shows that HBO has ever produced.
Those that love King’s work can see the parallels that he draws with recent events, and Chernobyl certainly draws comparisons to the recent ways in which scientific reasoning is undermined by authority. While the sheer level of violent content certainly does not make it an easy watch, Chernobyl tells an important story about the power of truth that any fan of King’s should be able to appreciate. Excellent performances from Stellan Skarsgård, Jared Harris, and Barry Keoghan make the series even better.
Mare of Easttown doesn’t have any supernatural qualities, but it does tell a really compelling mystery story that fans of King novels like The Outsider and Salem’s Lot may appreciate. King often uses an inciting incident to explore the larger community in which a tragedy takes place; in Mare of Easttown, the protagonist (Kate Winslet) ends up discovering more about the buried secrets that her small town has covered up after digging into the murder of a teenage girl (Cailee Spaeney).
Mare of Easttown is one of the rare shows that ended absolutely perfectly, as every loose storyline and character was tied up in a satisfying way. While there have been calls for a second season to take off with Winslet reprising her role, it would be unnecessary considering how sufficiently the first season managed to end things on an ambiguous note.
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