Summary

• Castle Rock was canceled by Hulu after its second season despite high ratings and positive reviews due to the streaming giant's plan to conclude the series after Annie Wilkes's story.

After season 2 of Castle Rock, Hulu canceled the horror series. Castle Rock is named after the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine, the setting for several major works written by prolific horror author, Stephen King. The fictional Maine town is the main setting for 15 of King's stories, and it's referenced in 22 of his other works. While Castle Rock brought an interesting idea to the King universe by bringing all of these stories together, Castle Rock was canceled by the streaming giant Hulu.

Castle Rock was a remarkable contribution to the expansive list of Stephen King-adapted media due to its ability to merge major stories and locations from the fictional town to create one cohesive narrative. Both seasons have remarkably high reviews with season 1 sitting at a current rating of 87% on Rotten Tomatoes and season 2 with an 89% rating. With the series' success, it is hard to believe that Castle Rock season 3 wasn't greenlit.

Hulu Always Planned To End Castle Rock After Season 2

When Hulu made the decision to cancel Castle Rock after season 2, it was not based on reviews or viewership. Instead, it was based on the fact that they had always intended to conclude the series after Annie Wilkes's story. This was due to an array of factors, one of which includes a major shift in company interest towards HBO Max. While this explanation is undoubtedly true, it may also be a result of so many potential Stephen King adaptations of major stories set in Castle Rock that focusing on the show closes too many other avenues, making it impossible to convert great King stories to the small screen.

Will There Be A Season 3 Of Castle Rock?

A Castle Rock season 3 revival could still theoretically happen. The series isn't short source material; there are around 15 stories that take place in Castle Rock, but the plan to cancel the series was made long before audiences became aware. It had been an entire year since fans heard any news on the stories of Castle Rock season 3. The longer an announcement was drawn out, the clearer it became that season 3 wasn't going to happen. Castle Rock season 2 finished on December 11th, 2019, and Hulu finally announced in late 2020 that Castle Rock was canceled for good.

How Castle Rock Season 3 Could Happen

As of now, there's no information on whether or not Castle Rock season 3 will be picked up again after its cancellation by a different network or streamer. That being said, there have been a number of popular shows that escaped cancellation or were rebooted due to fan response. As well, the series has not gotten in the way of other Stephen King adaptations or vice versa. For instance, Gerald's Game takes place in the fictional town, but it was transformed into an incredible and disturbing feature-length movie for Netflix in 2017.

It might be a major feat — and a risky one — to tackle doing another adaptation of the story so close to this acclaimed release, there are so many stories that take place in Castle Rock. Nevertheless, the plan to cancel Castle Rock was made long before audiences became aware. It had been an entire year since fans heard any news on the state of Castle Rock season 3. After Hulu announced Castle Rock's cancellation, it was clear that there would be no more visitations to the Shawshank State Penitentiary or Jerusalem's Lot.

Why It's A Good Thing Castle Rock Season 3 Isn't Happening

While it may have disappointed some fans, Castle Rock being canceled before its third season was probably inevitable. It also wasn't the worst thing for the legacy of the show. Many properties with cult followings maintain a fanbase because they were canceled before dropping in quality. Castle Rock is based on the fiction of Stephen King, of which there is a notoriously vast amount, and it only took two seasons for this to be a burden rather than a boon. Not only was Castle Rock far from the only King adaptation TV series available too, as The Stand and Lisey's Story miniseries aired in 2020.

Shows like Stranger Things and American Horror Story both draw heavy inspiration from King's work too – so much so that he's an outspoken fan of both. Both have also performed much better than Castle Rock. Stranger Things and AHS aren't based on King's works, but they both satisfy the audience's craving for the kind of weirdness delivered by Carrie, IT, and even Stephen King adaptations he hates like The Shining. There might have been a time for Castle Rock's fanservice blending of classic Stephen King characters in the 90s or 00s, but in the 2020s there just isn't as much room or demand for it.

Ultimately, Castle Rock had to end in order to avoid growing stale; this decision dodged potentially retelling stories that have already been made into film/television adaptations in the past decade, which could feel repetitive to audiences. While there is no news on whether or not HBO Max will pick up Castle Rock season 3 later for their streaming platform, it seems highly unlikely. In the meantime, Stephen King fans still have the opportunity to enjoy the prolific authors' work with shows like Chapelwaite and Paramount+'s Pet Sematary prequel.

Stephen King Wishes Castle Rock Got A Season 3

One of Castle Rock's biggest fans was Stephen King himself, and King wishes Castle Rock season 3 happened. The author has always been vocal about his opinions of movie and TV adaptations of his work, whether it's positive or negative, and King had glowing praise for the Castle Rock writers, commenting, "The people involved were big fans of those books, and I liked what they did quite a lot... In the second season, they really got their feet under them. I would have liked to have seen it go on and grow a little bit."

It hardly comes as a surprise that King liked the show and wanted Castle Rock season 3 to happen, as the writer has mostly liked projects that are faithful to the source material but also get creative, which is why King loves The Mist ending and Stand by Me. Castle Rock inventively combined a number of King's books to create an expansive yet isolated world, something that had surprisingly never been done before with King's work despite being set in the same town. However, given the growing popularity of revival shows, Castle Rock season 3 could still happen in years' time.