Stephen King: Constant readers and new fans will love Castle Rock

Hulu’s Castle Rock is an ambitious undertaking. With so much King lore to draw inspiration from, how does it stack up for King’s constant readers?

It’s a familiar small town, with familiar faces. We constant readers of Stephen King thought we were done with our visits to Castle Rock after Needful Things in 1991. Which, ironically enough, is the year the prologue for Castle Rock on Hulu begins…

In 1991 Castle Rock, a young boy named Henry Deaver goes missing. Eleven days later, he is found by Sheriff Alan Pangborn on the frozen over Castle Lake. He claims to have no memory of what happened.

Fast Forward to 2018 and Henry Deaver is a death row lawyer. When a young man is found in the abandoned basement of Shawshank prison in a cage, Henry is called back home after the young man utters his name. The young man is a complete mystery.

Right from the opening theme segment, the Easter eggs begin. Multiple newspaper headline clippings mention the various things that have happened in the town. I’ll let you see if you can spot them.

More from Stephen King

• 31 Days of Horror: Stephen King’s The Boogeyman thrills
• 31 Days of Horror: Christine- Two masters of horror deliver an underrated classic
• The Boogeyman is a scream-filled reflection on grief
• Looking back at Stephen King’s creepy cult classic Children of the Corn
• The 3 Stephen King movies releasing in 2023 (so far)

One of the best things about Castle Rock is the ensemble cast. Scott Glenn (Netflix/Marvel’s Daredevil) plays the now retired Sheriff, Alan Pangborn, who has suspicions about Henry Deaver (American Horror Story’s Andre Holland). There’s also some Stephen King alumni as well. From IT (2017) Bill Skarsgard plays the mysterious Shawshank prisoner, while Chosen Jacobs plays Henry’s son Wendell. Melanie Lynskey plays Molly Strand, a childhood friend of Henry’s with a hidden power. Rounding out the main cast is the 1976 prom queen herself, Carrie White, as Sissy Spacek plays Henry’s adopted mother.

While the cast is important, equally as important is the writing. Without a solid story, even the most legendary cast can’t help. Luckily it feels like Castle Rock is written by Stephen King himself. The story moves along at a slow boil with a ton of character development, but has enough chills to keep you intrigued. Constant readers will love hunting the Easter eggs strewn throughout, but the story is different enough for new fans to enjoy.

In short,

is something that deserves your attention. It’s the series event of the year. There are currently three episodes up on Hulu, with new episodes every Wednesday.

Fan of Stephen King? Checked out Castle Rock yet? Let the other Maine men and woman know what you think in the comment section below.