Why Stephen King refuses to talk about a TV series based on his work
There are so many adaptations of his work released with such regularity that Stephen King isn’t obligated to pass judgment on every single one, but he does have a habit of speaking out when they veer to one of two extremes.
The author is happy to praise what he perceives as the finest film and television translations of his source material, while he’s also made a point of calling out the ones he deems to be at the very bottom of the barrel, something that even extends to his one and only feature as a director.
He didn’t quite go so far as to take legal action as he did in the case of The Lawnmower Man, but the three-season TV series Under the Dome left such a bad taste in King’s mouth that he flat-out admitted he’s never going to talk about it publicly.
King’s 2009 novel lives up to its title by telling the story of a small town that finds itself mysteriously sealed off from the outside world, but it soon became clear the originator of the concept was convinced three seasons of television was dragging the conceit out for much longer than it should.
Speaking to The Washington Post, King suggested that Under the Dome “went entirely off the rails because the people are doing things that don’t seem realistic”. Furthering that assessment – despite being a sci-fi mystery thriller – he offered that “if you ask people to accept those ideas, there has to be a sense of realism that goes with it, that pulls you along.”
While he conceded “the first few episodes were great”, he stated his opinion that as things wore on well past their welcome, Under the Dome “descended into complete mediocrity” to the point where he abandoned ship and gave up watching long before the show reached its conclusion.
Even when shining a light on a podcast dedicated to covering various works from his bibliography, King made a point of noting, “I don’t talk about the TV series”. He may have given up discussing Under the Dome, but his sentiments were readily apparent long before he confirmed that digging into its episodic ins and outs were strictly off the table.
Ironically, Under the Dome got off to a phenomenal start on home network CBS, with the premiere episode in June 2013 being watched by well over 13 million people, which made it the most-watched debut for any drama to air during the summer months on any station in the United States since 1992.
By its 39th and final chapter, though, those numbers had plummeted to a little over four million, which makes it abundantly clear that viewers were ditching the show in their droves, so it’s not as if King was the only person operating under the assumption Under the Dome was gradually sliding downwards through the entirety of its run on-screen.
