The Best Stephen King TV Show Is About To Be Dethroned

Published Sep 29, 2026, 11:30 AM EDT

Casey Duby is an avid TV writer, watcher, and reviewer. She graduated from Emerson College in 2021 with a focus in Writing for Film and Television, where she wrote several pilots and watched countless more. She's been working in television ever since.

Casey loves thoughtful content that makes her ponder our world and the people in it, and she's learned that any genre can surprise her. With favorites in every genre from horror to politics, family to action, nothing is off limits.

Casey has experience working in TV development and writing scripted shows. Currently working as a Writer/Critic in Los Angeles, with an AMC A-List membership to boot, she is always hunting for the next good story and great theme song.

Though The Shining, The Shawshank Redemption, and Brian De Palma's 1976 iteration of Carrie are among the first titles to come to mind when thinking of impressive adaptations of Stephen King's work, the writer's stories have left an impression on the small screen as well. In fact, even as many King adaptations have proven to be compelling TV shows, one has proven to stand the test of time.

11.22.63, the 2016 limited series starring James Franco, adapted King's novel of the same name with the quality of a true prestige TV show. The novel itself was among King's best, as its supernatural plot points proved to serve what was ultimately a grounded character study, and a period piece to boot, all territory that the author handles well.

Yet the strength of its source material had the potential to pose a challenge for the TV show, as the story came with high expectations and loyal fans. Even so, the eight-episode series cleared the high bar it had set for itself. The sincerity of Franco's performance remains among his best, while the visuals allowed the nostalgia for the era to shine through.

Visually meeting historical figures like Lee Harvey Oswald ran the risk of creating caricatures out of real people and events, but the down-to-earth tone of the entire series made their presence feel organic. All in all, 11.22.63 and its resonant cast have held their own as the strongest Stephen King TV adaptation, even among the likes of The Outsider and It's 1990 limited series.

However, the acclaimed time-travel period piece may soon lose this honor as Mike Flanagan's Carrie threatens to take its place.

Carrie Has All The Makings Of A Superior Stephen King Adaptation

The marker of a quality Stephen King adaptation has consistently been the ability to seamlessly blend horror and drama. King's writing is as emotional as it is scary, and the depth of his character work is what has made his stories so memorable and timeless for decades on end. Mike Flanagan, the creator of Prime Video's upcoming Carrie, is well-versed in both meaningful horror and Stephen King specifically.

After spearheading what many consider to be an impressive streak of quality Netflix horror limited series, Flanagan wrote and directed The Life of Chuck​​​​​, a movie based on a Stephen King novella. Though The Life of Chuck received comparatively less fanfare than his Netflix shows, the movie cemented that Flanagan understands King and, like the author, doesn't need to rely solely on chills to have an impact.

Additionally, most of Flanagan's Netflix series were based on classic pieces of horror literature, like Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House, Henry James' The Turn of the Screw, and a vast collection of Edgar Allan Poe's writings. In short, Flanagan has developed the perfect resume to take on one of King's most beloved and heavily adapted works.

De Palma's Carrie was the first ever adaptation of a Stephen King work, and the 1976 movie is still highly regarded today. However, the story has since been adapted and expanded upon several other times with nowhere near the same success. After such unsatisfying iterations of Carrie, it's high time the story was finally handled well, and it almost certainly will be in Flanagan's hands.

We're Living In A Golden Age Of Stephen King Adaptations

Though Carrie hasn't been adapted well since the '70s, King's work is currently dominating the screen in genuinely impressive ways. After Andy Muschietti's take on It became the highest-grossing horror film of all time in 2017, that universe has continued to successfully expand. It: Chapter Two and It: Welcome to Derry have come together to form a cohesive franchise that feels like it is just beginning.

Movie-length adaptations of King's less mainstream titles, including The Life of Chuck and The Long Walk, have shown that even a lack of pre-established popularity doesn't stop the author's work from making compelling stories in a visual medium.

With a second season of It: Welcome to Derry on the horizon and Carrie only days away, there has never been a better time to be a Stephen King fan.

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