Stephen Kingcast

When adapting a 50 year story so ingrained into our shared pop cultural consciousness, you have to begin with "Why?"  This is the question that Mike Flanagan asked himself and answered with an exploration of the dangers facing our children in a modern world.  Updating the threat of bullying to a 2026 reality, Mike Flanagan creates a new spin on Carrie, presenting the titular character not as a soc...

Welp. That was something. I wanted to love it, I really did. And unfortunately, I found myself falling into the same frustrations that plagued me while reading it. With all of that being said, one thing you can't take away from this show is how beautiful it looks. Truly. For all of my criticisms, concerns and questions, tune in as a I say goodbye to Lisey's Story.

What a time to be a Stephen King fan! In a few days, we will celebrate our fandom with the one, two punch of Mike Flanagan's updated retelling of Carrie followed immediately by the final chapter of King and Straub's Talisman trilogy, Other Worlds Than These, which is not only a goodbye to Jack Sawyer, but of Mid-World, home to The Dark Tower. And sadly, it's King's goodbye to his longtime friend a...

Here, I examine the first four episodes of the Apple's adaptation of King's most personal work. Longtime listeners will remember that this is a novel I could never connect with, so I was very curious to see if an adaptation would do the same thing for the story what the Mr. Mercedes adaptation had done. Is this show successful? Does it unlock a deeper understanding of what makes this story tick? F...

In 2020, when The Outsider first premiered, I recorded a review of the conclusion of The Outsider. In the years that have past, I have a different perspective on its ending. In this episode, I challenge my previous self's criticisms and praise the way the story wrapped up and the series as a whole.

I continue my analysis of HBO's masterpiece, this time focusing my attention on the brilliance of Ben Mendelsohn's performance as Ralph Anderson.

In 2020, HBO gave us one of King's adaptations and one of television's most gripping mini series. Stacked with talent and a story woven with delicious writing, we were treated to deeply human story that showed our characters struggle with the unbelievable qualities of the case they're tasked with investigating. What results is a stunning examination of normal people who want to do right, everyday...

Ahhh, The Mist. It's no surprise that they decided to make a television show considering the impact from the movie, which is still considered to have one of the most divisive and gut punching endings from any movie in history. On paper, there's a lot to squeeze from an expanded television show based off of King's work. And though I may not have liked it at the time, the choice to make the the mist...

In this episode, we say goodbye the Finders Keepers crew. Does the John Rothstein plot wrap up nicely? Does it feel like a fitting ending for our characters? Join me in saying goodbye to this criminally underdiscussed adaptation.

Pulling from the second novel, Finder's Keepers, as the source material for this season, we pick up with Bill and company as they explore the legal and emotional fallout from Lou's execution of Brady Hartsfield while simultaneously dealing with the investigation of the murder of famed local author, John Rothstein. The big question for this season is if it will be able to hold audience's attention...

Welcome back to another episode breaking down the final 5 episodes of the second season of Mr. Mercedes. We start to deviate from the text as it barrels towards a true conclusion for the conflicts that have been bubbling for two seasons. Does it land? How does it compare to the books? Find out this week!

In this episode, I dive back into David E. Kelly's wonderful adaptation of a book series that I had struggled with. But watching this show continues to blow me away. The steady hands on the wheel, one hand by Kelly and the other by legendary TV director, Jack Bender, keep this show on the road. And it's one centered by an exceptional performance by Brendan Gleason, who not only brings Bill Hodges...

In this episode, I read some listener e-mails, address some feedback and discuss why you've been hearing ads on the podcast and the promotion of the Patreon feed. I thought that you should all get a peek behind the curtain, and I wanted to be as transparent as possible. With all of that out of the way, I dive into the adaptation of Stephen King's Big Driver, a Lifetime movie starring Maria Bello....

Hello, everyone!  I know that I didn't put out a new episode last week, but I still wanted to make sure that you had something from me, so in this episode, you get a full, free episode that I recorded earlier this year. With HBO's House of the Dragon having just returned, I thought it was appropriate to publish my original review on the first four episodes of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. More i...

Mick Garris is back with another Stephen King adaptation. Starring James Bond himself as the chambray-shirt wearing best selling novelist who investigates a 100 year old mystery while grieving the recent death of his wife. The novel is a slow burn rumination on loss, heartbreak and the ghosts we carry with us. Is the movie the same? Find out this week! As always, write in at stephenkingcast@yahoo....

Welcome Tak! With Desperation, Mick Garris continues his run of King adaptations. Starring Steven Weber, Tom Skerrit, Matt Frewer, Annabeth Gish and Ron Pearlman as the possessed Sheriff, Collie Entragian, we are treated to the sun-baked and blood-soaked desert set tale of good v. evil. As always, you can write in at stephenkingcast@yahoo.com Follow me on Bluesky, Tik Tok, Instagram and Facebook....

In 1976, Anne Rice forever changed the vampire with the publication of Interview With The Vampire. Injected with romanticism, passion, sexuality, queer relationships and religious existentialism, this novel kicked off a franchise that is still going today. And of course, it introduced one of modern fiction's most impactful characters, the Vampire Lestat. Let's get ready for tonight's premeire of A...

This episode is an introduction to a larger exploration occurring over on Patreon . "Ladies and gentlemen, at long last I am diving into the bibliography of one of Stephen King's most prolific contemporaries, the legendary Dean Koontz. In the horror heyday of the 80s and 90s, you could count on two things in the horror section of any bookstore: massive quantities of King books taking up one sectio...

This week, I'm taking a break from the coverage of televised Stephen King works to review this banger of a movie that passed me by when it first came out. Starring rising Scream Queen Sophie Thatcher (Yellowjackets, Heretic, Companion), always likeable Chris Messina and everyone's favorite weirdo, David Dastmalchian (Late Night with the Devil), The Boogeyman tells the tale of a wounded family, rec...

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, Star Wars crashed and burned its sequel trilogy with a final installment that created doubt for the future of the franchise. However, at that same time, a little show called The Mandalorian had taken the pop cultural world by storm, and the inclusion of Star Wars' newest character, Baby Yoda, breathed new life into a franchise that, at least on the big sc...

Airing during the summer of 2006, this 7 part TNT adaptation starred William Hurt, William H Macey, Kim Delaney, Steven Weber, Jeremy Sisto, Ron Livingston and more to provide seven adaptations of King's short stories. I'm all for a fun anthology show, but the question is: was it any good? Find out this week on The Stephen Kingcast! As always, you can write in at stephenkingcast@yahoo.com Follow m...

Come for the review of Riding the Bullet, stay for the examination on Houlden Caufield, Jim Steinman, Meat Loaf and 28 Years Later.  It was a fun review. I can't say the same about the movie itself. But for all my thoughts, check it out.  As always, you can write in at stephenkingcast@yahoo.com Follow me on Bluesky, Tik Tok, Instagram and Facebook. And check out more reviews at patreon.com/stephen...

I can't believe I actually did it! I went back and rewatched the 2004 Rob Lowe-starring TNT television movie adaptation of Salem's Lot. I have strong memories of watching it back in the day, and they were not positive memories. I had told myself that I wouldn't revisit it, but as the decades rolled on, heading into my time machine and checking out the early 2000s was an interesting proposition. I...

2004 was a big year for Stephen King. We saw the publication of Song of Susannah, and The Dark Tower. And in TV, we saw Salem's Lot, Riding the Bullet, and the 13 part one season television adaptation of Lars von Trier's acclaimed surreal hospital nightmare tale, as known in the States as Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital. The dreamy, surreal, strange sensibility of the original is replaced with bro...

In this week's episode, I follow up with the sequel/prequel/spinoff of Rose Red, the TV movie, The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer. Reframing the flashbacks from Rose Red, it gives a new perspective on what we thought we knew about Ellen.  Buuuuuut. . .is it good?  Find out! As always, if you have any thoughts on anything related to Stephen King, write into stephenkingcast@yahoo.com Follow on Bluesky, Fac...