# Castle Rock (2018)

> A cancelled Hulu horror-mystery that weaves Stephen King characters and places into a single haunted Maine town.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/62137

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 20
- Episode runtime: 60 min
- Status: Canceled
- Genres: mystery, horror, drama
- Created by: Dustin Thomason, Sam Shaw
- Network: Hulu
- Cast: André Holland, Lizzy Caplan, Melanie Lynskey, Tim Robbins, Sissy Spacek, Noel Fisher, Elsie Fisher, Bill Skarsgård
- TMDB rating: 7.5/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6548228/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: eerie, brooding, slow burn, unsettling, melancholic

## What critics say

Audiences rate the series positively, praising its Stephen King references and the stronger second season, while finding the first season aimless with a weak central mystery.

## Synopsis

Castle Rock (2018-2019) is a US Hulu horror mystery series created by Dustin Thomason and Sam Shaw, based on the stories of Stephen King. Set in the fictional Maine town of Castle Rock, the show follows lawyer Henry Deaver (André Holland) as he returns home to confront his family's buried past, with Sissy Spacek as his mother Ruth Deaver and Melanie Lynskey as Molly Strand. Tim Robbins plays the enigmatic Reginald Pop Merrill and Lizzy Caplan plays Annie Wilkes, while Bill Skarsgård appears as a mysterious prisoner at Shawshank. The series runs for two seasons of ten episodes each, and it is built from interlocking mysteries rather than a single case of the week, so characters, places and threads from different King works keep crossing paths. Season one moves slowly and can feel aimless, while season two gathers a sharper central mystery. The tone is eerie and brooding, with unsettling small town dread, uneasy family secrets and supernatural menace. Fans of Twin Peaks and Under the Dome will find resonance in its mood and layered mystery, and viewers who love stephen king adaptations will recognize the textures of his Maine.

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