'11.22.63': A look at the anticipated Stephen King TV adaptation
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Molly Driscoll Staff writer
Hulu's聽TV adaptation of Stephen King鈥檚 novel 鈥�11/22/63" will debut this February.
鈥�11/22/63鈥� stars James Franco as Jake Epping, a teacher who is told by diner owner Al (Chris Cooper) that anyone can travel through time using Al鈥檚 pantry. Al asks Jake to go back in time to try to prevent the Kennedy assassination.
Like many of King鈥檚 novels, 鈥�11鈥� became a bestseller and was critically praised. Monitor writer Erik Spanberg called 鈥�11/22/63鈥� a date well worth keeping.鈥澛�
This adaptation is another high-profile project for streaming service Hulu. Like streaming services Netflix and Amazon Prime, Hulu started out as a place to watch already-existing movies and TV shows and now has begun producing original content.聽
Early efforts didn鈥檛 hit, but some attention was paid to the animated show 鈥淭he Awesomes,鈥� which stars various 鈥淪aturday Night Live鈥� cast members, among others, when it debuted in 2013. 鈥淭he Wrong Mans,鈥� starring 鈥淟ate Late Show鈥� host James Corden, got more notice as well, as did the satirical program 鈥淭he Hotwives.鈥�
It was a major feather in Hulu鈥檚 cap when the streaming service picked up the Mindy Kaling comedy 鈥淭he Mindy Project鈥� after the show was canceled by Fox. The Billy Eichner comedy 鈥淒ifficult People,鈥� which premiered this past summer, has also garnered some attention for the streaming service.聽
An adaptation of a bestseller like 鈥�11/22/63鈥� 鈥� and one by King, no less 鈥� will no doubt bring more attention to Hulu. It has yet to attain the ubiquity of, for example, fellow streaming service Netflix, which is now a regular presence at the prestigious Emmy Awards.聽
But 鈥淢indy鈥� in particular and now 鈥�11/22/63鈥� are increasing Hulu鈥檚 presence in pop culture. Well-received original programming will no doubt continue to keep the streaming service in viewers鈥� minds, despite the increasingly broad TV landscape in which viewing options are seemingly everywhere.
