10 Years Later, Stephen King’s 8-Part Sci-Fi Thriller Masterpiece Is Still The Perfect Binge

Published Sep 14, 2026, 7:30 PM EDT

After 18 months at Screen Rant, Guy became Classic TV Editor in September 2026, and specializes in leading features content about shows from decades gone by. Having written for and editing several TV, film and music publications, his areas of expertise include comedy and satire, animation, crime drama, Westerns, and political thrillers.

The number of Stephen King adaptations on television has proliferated over the past decade, and there are about to be even more, thanks to Mike Flanagan and Prime Video. At the same time, both Hollywood and TV networks alike never seem to get enough of dramatizing the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Indeed, a new movie about this historic moment in American history is coming out this November, starring John Travolta as a real-life mobster who’s alleged by conspiracy theorists to have been involved in a plot to kill Kennedy. Meanwhile, Jefferson White plays Lee Harvey Oswald, the man who’s generally accepted to be JFK’s actual assassin.

With November 1963 just two months away, now is the perfect time to binge Hulu’s adaptation of 11.22.63, a Stephen King novel that combines the historic events surrounding the Kennedy assassination with a compelling time-travel premise. Whereas, it remains to be seen whether Travolta’s upcoming release will rank alongside the best conspiracy thriller movies, this eight-part miniseries is a certified modern classic.

Featuring a show-stealing performance from Daniel Webber as Oswald, 11.22.63 ends with an ingenious twist involving the fateful date of its title. The thriller is currently available on Netflix in the United as well as Hulu, and is well worth a weekend binge.

Hulu’s Adaptation Of The Stephen King Novel 11.22.63 Is A Terrific Streaming Binge

11.22.63 is a thoroughly engrossing sci-fi thriller that blends elements of classic movies like Back to the Future and Groundhog Day with the real story of JFK’s assassination. In addition to stunning period realism in visual terms, the show boasts a wealth of screen talent in its ensemble cast, from Lucy Fry to Josh Duhamel.

James Franco fronts the series, as time-traveling teacher Jake Epping, who suddenly finds himself living at the turn of the 1960s, in the years prior President John F. Kennedy’s fateful visit to Dallas, Texas. Like many Stephen King stories, 11.22.63 starts in smalltown Maine. But there’s only one place it can end up.

Rich in detail and superbly paced, this miniseries handles King’s novel-writing better than almost any other adaptation of his work. At roughly eight hours in total, it’s the ideal length for its source material. It’s also just right for a lazy weekend in front of the television. Once you start the show, it’s very difficult to stop watching.

Almost every supporting character has their own intriguing tale to tell. There’s a sense, too, that we don’t know where Jake’s character arc is going to end up until the moment that it does. Then, like all the best screen storytelling, 11.22.63 leaves us wanting a little bit more, while pondering its evocative conclusion.

11.22.63 Is The Perfect Watch Before John Travolta’s November 1963

Image by MovieStillsDB

With John Travolta, Robert Carlyle, and Jefferson White starring in a new dramatization of the Kennedy assassination on the big screen this November, it’s a better time than any to discover 11.22.63, or even revisit the miniseries if you’ve seen it already. There are plenty of parallels to be drawn between the Stephen King TV show and November 1963.

Both works are primarily concerned with characters – whether real or fictional – who ostensibly have nothing to do with JFK or the official history of his death, yet become intimately linked with this event during the course of their stories. November 1963 is about the mobster Johnny Roselli, who’s long loomed large in conspiracy theories about Kennedy’s assassination.

We should expect the movie to take on a similar tone to 11.22.63 when dealing with this event. Although Hulu’s miniseries does rest on supernatural and sci-fi elements, it’s remarkably accurate when it comes to the stories of the real people directly or indirectly linked to the most recent presidential assassination in U.S. history.

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  James Franco

  Jake Epping

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  Sarah Gadon

  Sadie Dunhill

A teacher travels back in time to prevent the Kennedy assassination, but grows emotionally tied to his new life in the past.