You Can Binge Watch One Of The Very Best Stephen King TV Shows On Streaming In Under 5 Hours

Although many of Stephen King’s TV adaptations are great, the legendary horror author’s favorite of the lot is Storm of the Century, a miniseries that is currently available to stream on Hulu. Since Stephen King has written so many books, it is not surprising that there are plenty of TV adaptations of his work. However, the sheer volume of Stephen King TV shows still makes it tough for the uninitiated viewer to work out which ones are worth watching.

While 2024’s Salem’s Lot movie adaptation was a disappointment, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre director Tobe Hooper’s miniseries of the same name from 1978 is an endlessly influential genre classic. Similarly, although director Stanley Kubrick’s movie version of The Shining is seen as a masterpiece of horror filmmaking, 1997’s The Shining TV miniseries is a much more divisive effort whose hammy performances and dated effects leave a lot to be desired.

Storm Of The Century Is A Great Stephen King TV Show – And Isn’t Even Based On A Book

The Hulu Streaming Series is A Rare Original King Show

With so many Stephen King TV shows to sort through, it is perhaps best to turn to the man himself to find out which of his small-screen adaptations he likes the most. In a 2020 interview with The New York Times, King said that 1999’s Storm of the Century was his favorite of the many TV shows based on his work. Interestingly enough, Storm of the Century isn’t adapted from an existing King short story or novel. Instead, King wrote the show for television himself, making it uniquely suited to the medium.

Storm of the Century follows a small-town cop on an isolated island off the coast of Maine who tries to help the community rebuild after the titular disastrous storm. However, he is perturbed by the presence of a new stranger who seems to appear with the arrival of the storm. Storm of the Century’s iconic Stephen King villain, Andre Linoge, is a creepy, seemingly supernatural antagonist who has in-depth knowledge of all the town’s secrets.

Linoge uses this knowledge to pit the community against each other, eventually revealing a terrible demand underpinning his evil deeds. The isolated location calls to mind The Mist, while the supernatural villain is reminiscent of The Stand’s Randall Flagg. The premise of this newcomer knowing all the town’s secrets could bring viewers back to Needful Things, while his gradual infiltration of the community has shades of Salem’s Lot. Thus, this miniseries, which is available to stream on Hulu, blends many of King’s best recurring themes into an inventive, unpredictable original story.

Stephen King Himself Loves Storm Of The Century

King Called Storm of the Century His Favourite Of His TV Adaptations

King himself singled out Storm of the Century as the favorite of his TV adaptations, and it is easy to see why. Even lesser Stephen King TV adaptations like 2020’s The Stand were elevated when King wrote for them, with that flawed miniseries improving massively when King penned its finale. The fact that King wrote Storm of the Century for television makes it a career standout since the show doesn’t suffer from the problems faced by so many of the author’s adaptations.

There are no missing subplots to disappoint book readers, nor is there the unshakable feeling that a larger story has been condensed for the sake of time. On the other hand, there are no extraneous storylines that feel like padding, something many of King’s longer novels are accused of indulging in. Instead, Storm of the Century manages to find a balance and gets the best of both worlds.

2025 Will Hopefully Have A New Contender Among The Best Stephen King Shows

It’s Spinoff Could Outdo Welcome To Derry

That said, there is reason to believe that Storm of the Century may not remain the best Stephen King TV show ever for much longer. 2025 will see the long-awaited arrival of Max’s It prequel Welcome to Derry, eight years after It’s release and six years after It: Chapter Two. Pennywise’s return to screens will explore the history of the villain’s hometown before the arrival of the Losers Club, delving into the twisted history of the fictional Maine suburb.

Since 2017’s It is one of the most financially and critically successful Stephen King adaptations to date, it stands to reason that this prequel could outdo even Storm of the Century upon its arrival. While the horrors of Derry weren’t as effective in the uneven It: Chapter Two, Bill Skarsgard’s return as Pennywise proves this series won’t be a mere cash-in. Instead, Welcome to Derry could be as cinematic and ambitious as the original movies, and could expand the world of the series with its longer runtime.

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If Welcome to Derry lives up to its potential, the show could be even better than Storm of the Century. Both are small-town horror stories, but Welcome to Derry has a sprawling, multi-generational canvas on which to paint its twisted masterpiece. That said, this could result in the Stephen King series feeling more shapeless than the comparatively tight, tense Storm of the Century.