This Canceled Stephen King TV Series Was Far More Successful Than Anyone Realized

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Stephen King is one of the most popular and prolific authors to ever do it. Even so, he's much more than a mere best-selling author who has written dozens of books over the last 50 years. He's a downright cultural icon whose works have inspired many, many popular movies and TV shows. It turns out, those adaptations are good business to be in. So much so that a Stephen King series that only ran for two seasons, and hardly ever gets talked about, can still generate millions of dollars.

The show in question is "Castle Rock," which aired for two seasons on Hulu between 2018 and 2019. Produced by J.J. Abrams, the show remixes many of King's characters and stories into one series set in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine. It's a show that, as its official synopsis puts it, "combines the mythological scale and intimate character storytelling of King's best-loved works, weaving an epic saga of darkness and light, played out on a few square miles of Maine woodland." (Or, as /Film's Chris Evangelista called it, a "Stephen King fan's dream come true.")

"Castle Rock" was canceled in 2020, having only aired 20 episodes. Even so, a report from The Wrap ahead of the premiere of "It: Welcome to Derry" on HBO revealed that the series brought in a whopping $57.9 million in streaming revenue between 2020 and 2025 — more than any other King adaptation during that stretch. Yes, really.

For comparison, "The Shawshank Redemption," arguably one of the most universally beloved movies ever made, was a somewhat distant second place and brought in $35.7 million during that same stretch. Then there's 2017's "It," which made $700 million at the box office and remains the biggest horror movie ever, ranking at number nine with $28.5 million.

"It" went on to inspire a hit sequel as well as the aforementioned prequel series "Welcome to Derry," which seeks to fill in gaps in King's original novel. Yet, it pales in comparison to "Castle Rock" in terms of streaming revenue. It's nothing if not fascinating. On a similar note, the little discussed Netflix movie "In the Tall Grass" was sitting pretty at number three with $34.1 million, just above Stanley Kubrick's heralded classic "The Shining" with $32.1 million. Again, surprising.

The rest of the titles listed in the study included "The Green Mile" ($30.8 million), "The Outsider" ($29.8 million), "Under the Dome" ($29.3 million), and Frank Darabont's gut-wrenching "The Mist" ($28.6 million).

What the list and these numbers reveal, above all else, is the value that a King adaptation can have on a longer timeline. "The Shining" and "The Shawshank Redemption" have been raking in the dough for decades, with streaming just the latest revenue stream. There's a reason why King's books have been highly sought after material for screen adaptations for a long, long time, and why they continue to be. Their value extends way beyond the original release.

It's not terribly surprising to see "The Green Mile" on this list, but it is downright shocking to see "Castle Rock" towering so high above the rest of the pack. Still, that speaks volumes about the disconnect between what people talk about online versus what they quietly watch and enjoy. Seeing these numbers, it's no wonder Amazon is making a "Carrie" TV series. It's also not surprising that Netflix wants to remake "Cujo." The Stephen King business is a very good business to be in.

You can buy "Castle Rock: The Complete Series" on DVD or Blu-ray from Amazon.