Netflix's 8-Part Stephen King Sci-Fi Thriller Series Is The Perfect One-Night Weekend Binge

17 hours ago 5

Published Feb 10, 2026, 3:20 PM EST

Felipe Rangel is a Superheroes Lead Writer and Reviewer at ScreenRant. He has been writing about movies and TV since 2021, with a focus on superhero projects. Felipe joined ScreenRant in 2022, working across different teams, covering everything from breaking news to features to reviews and more. Since the launch of the Superheroes vertical in 2023, he has focused his efforts on coming up with insightful analyses of Marvel and DC's projects.

Felipe is a writer who is an avid film and TV fan, with superhero movies and series being his biggest passion. He graduated from college in 2019, having studied Journalism. Before college, he spent a month studying at the Oxford English Centre. His superhero knowledge expands to the comics, with his undergraduate thesis being "Politics Reflected In American Comics."

Netflix is now the home of one of the most exciting Stephen King adaptations, and the Sci-Fi thriller series is perfect for a one-night weekend binge for a few reasons. King is one of the most famous authors of all time. It feels like every year, there is at least one adaptation of his work coming out, and 2025 had multiple Stephen King projects.

As we enter 2025, those interested in the writer's works can find them in TV show format across a wide variety of streaming services. One of those happens to be Netflix, which boasts a library of many excellent thriller series. Recently, a Stephen King TV show joined that pantheon, which happened a decade after its release, and the Sci-Fi thriller series is perfect for watching in one sitting.

A Stephen King Sci-Fi Series Has Skyrocketed On Netflix

James Franco in a promotional still for 112263.

The Stephen King series I'm talking about is 11.22.63. The limited series was originally released on Hulu on February 15, 2016. It was one of Hulu's first original series, helping the streamer cement itself with a positive reception. The Stephen King series currently has an 83% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes, while audiences have responded even more positively to it, at 87%.

11.22.63's cast includes many stars, with names like Chris Cooper, Sarah Gadon, George MacKay, Josh Duhamel, Annette O'Toole, and more. The Sci-Fi thriller series is led by James Franco as Jake Epping, an English teacher who finds a way to travel back in time to 1960, using that opportunity to try to stop the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963.

A decade after the show was released on Hulu, from where it has since been removed, the Stephen King series became available on Netflix as of January 7, 2026. There, the show became a streaming hit. 11.22.63 went as high as the 2nd most-watched TV show on Netflix in the United States. According to Netflix data, it recently ranked 10th for the final week of January.

Why 11.22.63 Is The Perfect One-Night Weekend Binge On Netflix

11.22.63 is different from a lot of Stephen King adaptations, as its focus is not horror. Instead, the series is a fast-paced thriller with time travel elements and a nice dose of real-world history sprinkled in. It makes for a unique limited series where the audience can both have fun and stay on the edge of their seats in the same episode.

The James Franco thriller series sees a strong performance from its lead actor, with Jake slowly understanding how to make the most of his time in the past. With a clear mystery to solve and a rapidly approaching deadline, viewers remain glued to their screens throughout the Netflix series' 8 episodes to quickly find out what cliffhangers lead to and whether JFK can even be saved.

11.22.63 has 8 episodes, all ranging from 44 minutes to 1 hour and 21 minutes. For Stephen King fans and thriller aficionados, the series can be binged in one night over the weekend. For more casual viewers, the Netflix show can be watched in a weekend and keep the mystery for a little longer. That said, 11.22.63 is an addictive series that will leave you wanting to finish it as fast as possible.