Every Stephen King TV Show, Ranked Worst to Best

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – June 3, 2021

Originally a reluctant convert to television, best-selling horror author Stephen King has seen over two dozen projects bearing his name reach the small screen over the past 40+ years, from Salem's Lot to the just-launched Lisey's Story. While most of these have been adaptations of King's novels and stories, a few were wholly new projects written by the author directly for TV. Some have been deeply mediocre at best, but quite a few of King's TV shows have received a warm welcome from critics.

In the gallery on this page, we rank every Stephen King series from worst to best by Metascore, reflecting the critical consensus at the time of each show's debut. Miniseries are included alongside conventional TV shows, but made-for-TV movies are excluded.

12 of 26 photo by ABC

61The Shining (ABC, 1997)

Based on the novel The Shining (1977)

[tied for #14] Considering the inevitable comparisons to Stanley Kubrick's iconic 1980 feature film adaptation, this three-part ABC miniseries isn't nearly the disaster it could have been. Unlike movie critics, King famously disliked Kubrick's film and saw the miniseries as a chance at a do-over, penning the screenplay himself for director Mick Garris, who previously helmed ABC's successful The Stand miniseries. Steven Weber took on the role of writer Jack Torrance (played by Jack Nicholson in the 1980 film), while Rebecca De Mornay played his wife. Unlike the movie, ABC's miniseries was actually filmed at Colorado's Stanley Hotel, which was the inspiration for the fictional Overlook Hotel in King's novel.

“If The Shining has a weakness in comparison to its predecessor, it’s that it lacks some of the trademark visions of horror — the elevator-driven blood, the ax-wielding Nicholson. But it makes up for that with a consistent, carefully textured story that rarely gives you the chance to properly breathe.” —Ray Richmond, Variety

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