Hulu has placed a direct-to-series order for 11/22/63, a nine-hour adaptation of Stephen King’s time-travel novel about the Kennedy assassination, from J.J. Abrams and Warner Bros. Television.
The miniseries will follow high school English teacher Jake Epping who travels back in time to try to prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas on that fateful date.
A premiere date for 11/22/63, to be released as 9 hour-long episodes, has not been set. Meanwhile, Hulu has not determined whether it will make the full series available exclusively to Hulu Plus subscribers, or whether some episodes will be free on Hulu.com.
Executive producers are Stephen King, J.J. Abrams (through Bad Robot), Bridget Carpenter and Bryan Burk. Carpenter will write the teleplay, while Bad Robot's Kathy Lingg is co-executive producer and Athena Wickham is producer.
Stephen King was producing CBS's Under the Dome, and Bad Robot has produced high-profile shows such as What About Brian, Six Degrees, Undercovers, Alcatraz, Almost Human and Believe.
The 11/22/63 project for Hulu is a limited "event series", but there will be opportunities for future subsequent seasons based on the story. Hulu’s pickup of 11/22/63 stands to be a critical component in the streaming service's ability to attract subscribers with high-profile originals, as it vies with the likes of Netflix, Amazon and Yahoo.
Stephen King said: "If I ever wrote a book that cries out for long-form, event-TV programming, 11/22/63 is it. I’m excited that it’s going to happen, and am looking forward to working with J.J. Abrams and the whole Bad Robot team".
Craig Erwich, Hulu's head of content, said: "J.J. and Stephen are two of the most celebrated storytellers of our time, and we are excited to be working with them to bring this unique take on one of the most seminal historic events of the 20th century to Hulu. 11/22/63 already resonated with audiences as a best-selling novel, we're looking forward to bringing the riveting story to the screen".
J.J. said: "I've been a fan of Stephen King since I was in junior high school. The chance to work with him at all, let alone on a story so compelling, emotional and imaginative, is a dream".
And creator Bridget Carpenter (The Red Road, Parenthood, Friday Night Lights, Dead Like Me), said: "Stephen King is one of my literary heroes, creating this miniseries is a dream come true. My dad, a lifelong Stephen King fanatic, still cannot believe it".
Oh oh, I have a feeling this will be a popular post!
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