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.

8 of 26 photo by Spike/Chris Reardon

54 The Mist (Spike, 2017)

Based on the novella The Mist (1980)

[#18] Previously adapted for the big screen in 2007 by Frank Darabont, Stephen King's early horror novella about an impenetrable fog that brings supernatural creatures to a small town in Maine was adapted again for TV a decade later. It wasn't intended to be a miniseries, but viewership of the poorly reviewed series—which deviated significantly from the source material and featured all new characters—was miniscule, and Spike canceled the show after 10 episodes. (Spike itself was canceled shortly thereafter, becoming the Paramount Network that is rumored to still exist today.)

“In tone and aesthetic, it feels like a rehash of CBS’s Under the Dome, another King adaptation that attempted to stretch its source material too far.” —Kelly Lawler, USA Today

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