Hulu Hosts Stephen King’s Favorite, Terrifying Miniseries: “They did a terrific job”
There are few things Stephen King loves more than a small town with secrets. Whether it be his quintessential Castle Rock from books like Needful Things and The Dead Zone, the iconic Jerusalem’s Lot from Salem’s Lot, or the Pennywise-plagued Derry from It, Dreamcatcher, and Insomnia, King’s ability to capture the complexities of small communities is second to none. Overflowing with charm, darkness, and engaging character ensembles, these stories lend themselves not only to the page but to the screen as well. And boy howdy, have there been some adaptations over the years, including the brand-new HBO series, It: Welcome to Derry. If you find yourself craving more King communities in between episode drops, Storm of the Century is a perfect seasonal follow-up. It’s intimate, icy, mean, and a rewarding watch for casual King fans and constant readers alike.
This 1999 ABC miniseries is a bleak, three-parter, written by King himself, specifically for the screen. Though the teleplay was later published as a book, Storm of the Century is rather unique, as it is one of King’s few projects that originated as a teleplay first. Directed by Craig R. Baxley (Rose Red), Colm Feore anchors the series with a quiet and chilly performance as the mysterious André Linoge. Tim Daly, Debrah Farentino, Jeffrey DeMunn, and many more familiar faces round out the rest of the cast. Though a little tough to track down for a while, Storm of the Century is now streaming in all of its 4:3 aspect ratio glory on Hulu.
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Plotwise, Storm of the Century is deliciously simple in its setup. Set on Little Tall Island, Maine, a vicious blizzard of epic proportions strands the residents, cutting them off from the mainland and its communications and resources. The storm also blows in André Linoge, a mysterious stranger who seems to know everyone’s darkest secrets. After a brutal murder and his subsequent arrest, Linoge makes the ambiguous demand, “Give me what I want, and I’ll go away.” As the town squirms with his knowledge and grapples with the rapidly increasing deaths that follow his arrival, the story becomes less about monsters hidden in the snow and more about the monstrous decisions humans will consider when cornered. It also features a classic King cameo, so keep your eyes peeled.
Part of the reason Storm of the Century lands so well this time of year is how physically convincing the cold and isolation are. The production was actually largely filmed during winter in Southwest Harbor, Maine, and you can feel it. The wind, the snow, and the way the town contracts inward as the storm builds feel not only possible, but plausible. King himself has called it his favorite of the TV projects based on his work, praising the series in a New York Times interview, saying, “That is my absolute favorite of all of them… I loved Colm Feore as Linoge, and I loved the story. [Y]ou get the sense of this awesome blizzard and the people trapped in it. They did a terrific job.”
So if you’ve been digging It: Welcome to Derry (like King himself has been) and enjoy King’s preternatural ability to turn small towns into hotbeds of terror, take a trip out to Little Tall Island and give Storm of the Century a shot. With only three parts, it’s compact enough to binge in between episode drops, and still hits as one of King’s most morally bleak screenplays. The full miniseries is now streaming on Hulu.
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