Long since rumoured, now it would seem the Abrams-King project is going full steam ahead. Hulu announced this morning that they’ve placed a direct-to-series order for 11/22/63 – an adaptation of Stephen King’s time-travel JFK novel. J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions and Warner Bros. Television will produce the show exclusively for Hulu, with Parenthood’s Bridget Carpenter, Lost‘s Bryan Burk and Abrams and King all onboard as executive producers.
The adaptation of King’s 2011 bestseller will be spread across nine hour-length episodes. The story follows high-school teacher Jake Epping, as he discovers a doorway in the back of a local diner that transports him back in time to 1958. Making the choice to stay in the fifties and build a life, he plots to prevent Lee Harvey Oswald’s actions on that fateful day in 1963.
“J.J. Abrams and Stephen King are two of the most celebrated storytellers of our time, and we are excited to be working with them and Warner Bros. Television to bring this unique take on one of the most seminal historic events of the 20th century to Hulu,” said Craig Erwich, Hulu’s head of content, in a statement. “11/22/63 already resonated with audiences as a best-selling novel, and we are looking forward to bringing the riveting story to the screen.”
He’s not the only excited party involved. King mirrored Hulu’s Senior Vice President, announcing his own thoughts on the series finally coming to fruition:
“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.”
In the hands of any other production team, there’d be cause for concern, as King’s work are notoriously hit-n-miss. Some adaptations focus on the ‘horror’ and fail to imbue any characters with… well, character. With Abrams’ crew tackling the phenomenal novel – and they did brassy stuff with time travel in Lost – it’s time to sign up to Hulu, folks, before 11/22/63 starts to stream.