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.

2 of 26 photo by Sony Pictures Television

47 Kingdom Hospital (ABC, 2004)

Based on the Danish television series The Kingdom

[tied for #24] Iconoclastic Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier had just five films under his belt—and had yet to issue his Dogme 95 manifesto—when, inspired by David Lynch's Twin Peaks, he created the spooky, humorous, and utterly bizarre paranormal medical drama The Kingdom for Danish television network DR in 1994. A decade later, fan of the show Stephen King created an American version of the series for ABC after pursuing the rights to The Kingdom for five years. King's version starred Andrew McCarthy, Bruce Davison, Meagan Fay, Diane Ladd, and Ed Begley Jr. (who had previously starred in the medical drama St. Elsewhere), and though it was originally conceived as a miniseries, King and ABC agreed to turn it into an ongoing series. But when ratings dwindled from an impressive 14 million viewers for the pilot to under 3 million for later episodes, the network opted not to bring the show back.

While King's series was canceled after a single 13-episode season, Von Trier's originally ran for two seasons—and a third season (billed as The Kingdom Exodus) is now filming in anticipation of a 2022 premiere.

“Kingdom does have a few frightening moments, but they don't compensate for the lackluster performances, the absence of character development, humor or pacing, or the wild fluctuations in tone.” —Robert Bianco, USA Today

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