The Brilliant Stephen King 83% RT Sci-Fi Thriller Series

Many Stephen King stories have been adapted for the big and small screens, but fans of the author must not miss out on one brilliant sci-fi thriller that boasts a Rotten Tomatoes score of 83%. The show in question is based on a Stephen King book, but takes many significant creative liberties to etch its own identity.

Movie adaptations of Stephen King’s books seem to have a decent track record, given how many films based on the author’s works have managed to earn critical acclaim. When it comes to TV adaptations, however, there have been far more misses than hits, especially in recent years.

MGM+’s recent take on Stephen King’s The Institute managed to perform well enough to get renewed for season 2, but it failed to impress many viewers and critics. Fortunately, Stephen King fans who crave shows that perfectly capture the vision of his books can check out one brilliant nine-year-old series.

11.22.63 Is A Fantastic Time Travel Show Every Stephen King Fan Should Watch

Based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name, 11.22.63 is a thrilling time-travel series starring James Franco. In its eight-episode runtime, it follows the story of Jake Epping, a teacher, who is asked to use a time portal and travel to the past to avert John F. Kennedy’s death.

Although Epping agrees to take on the responsibility, he soon realizes that changing history is not as easy as he initially believed. Things get even more complicated when he falls in love with a woman from the past. 11.22.63 is not among the book adaptations that accurately bring an author’s words to the screen with little to no alterations.

Instead, 11.22.63 takes significant creative liberties and only stays true to the source material’s central sci-fi concept and themes of love, loss, and the consequences of tampering with time. However, despite taking this approach, 11.22.63 manages to capture the essence of the original Stephen King book while etching its own identity in the sci-fi genre.

While the core concept and character beats of 11.22.63 are enough to keep most viewers hooked throughout its runtime, the show also has a surprisingly emotional undercurrent. This emotional heft in the series is further elevated by its cast, which includes James Franco, Sarah Gadon, George MacKay, and Chris Cooper, among others.

11.22.63 Succeeded Where A Lot Of Stephen King Adaptations Failed

Many TV adaptations, especially the ones based on Stephen King’s works, often drift so far away from their source material that they almost become unrecognizable. Take, for instance, Under the Dome. The show started out strong by accurately recreating the events from the original Stephen King book.

Unfortunately, despite initially showing immense potential, the Stephen King TV show eventually went off the rails in season 2 and turned out to be nothing like its source material. 11.22.63, in contrast, honors the heart of its original novel and presents a compelling time-travel story that can be followed by most viewers.

With its miniseries format, 11.22.63 also avoids having any filler episodes and keeps its story focused and taut from the beginning to the end. While there are a few other great Stephen King TV adaptations fans of the author can check out, 11.22.63 also deserves recognition.