A premiere date has been set for season 2 of Caste Rock, the Hulu anthology based on the works of Stephen King. Premiering in 2018, the series takes its name from one of the locations which have recurred throughout King’s prolific career: the town of Castle Rock, which is featured in Cujo and several other notable titles from the master of horror.
The story of season 1 followed Henry, a death row attorney that returns home after a mysterious prisoner specifically requests his services. Given that it’s a show inspired by Stephen King, the return proves to be troubled. Shocking deaths, unsettling abilities, and disturbing discoveries are all packed into the first ten episodes as well as a number of covert and overt references to King. Castle Rock was praised for the performances of its cast, including Andre Holland and Sissy Spacek, as well as its ability to infuse new life into familiar tales. Season 2 was announced in August of last year, with influences from Misery and Salem’s Lot already revealed. Now, devotees of King, and others impressed by the series, can mark an exact date on their calendar for the show’s return.
Posted to the official Twitter account for Castle Rock, with the ominous tagline of ‘Misery Arrives’, a short video announced season 2 will arrive on October 23rd. Lizzy Caplan will play a younger version of Annie Wilkes, very memorably portrayed by Kathy Bates in the 1990 film. Wilkes’ arrival in Castle Rock, and her subsequent robbery, sets off a war between two warring clans. Tim Robbins and Paul Sparks will also appear as characters from other Stephen King stories. Rather than taking a format where each season unfurls a single Stephen King story, the anthology takes the unique approach of creating a connected universe from the creative author’s many works.
The genre of horror, and even specifically horror in the form of an anthology, has seen a resurgence. On the small screen, American Horror Story is still going strong. Others like Into The Dark, the rebooted Twilight Zone, and the upcoming Apple+ series Amazing Stories all strive for something different while still maintaining the option of resetting if a particular idea doesn’t work. Along with the prevalence scary stories at the box office, following the recent successes of Us and Ready or Not, it is a safe bet that the desire of audiences to be spooked will be met for a long time.
In that respect, Castle Rock is both at an advantage and a disadvantage. Caplan is a very talented actress and Misery is one of King’s best known stories. On the other hand, the performance of Kathy Bates in the original film is a singular depiction of obsession and delusion which is still referenced today. Caplan, and the series more broadly, will be on the receiving end of many comparisons. If those are positive or negative, it remains to be seen.
Castle Rock season 2 premieres October 23 on Hulu.
Source: Castle Rock/Twitter