Stephen King novel Joyland to be turned into TV series
The novel, published in 2013, tells the story of a college student working at a North Carolina amusement park in 1973
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Another one of Stephen King’s books is getting the small screen treatment.
The author’s 2013 novel Joyland is being adapted into a TV series put in development by Freeform, Deadline reported on Wednesday.
Joyland, set in 1973, tells the story of Devin Jones, a college student who takes a summer job at an amusement park in North Carolina – and is of course left dealing with an unsolved murder.
Writer Chris Peña, who has worked on the acclaimed satirical comedy drama Jane The Virgin, is attached to the project, along with Cyrus Nowrasteh, the screenwriter behind the 2006 miniseries The Path to 9/11 and the 2008 drama The Stoning of Soraya M. Peña and Nowrasteh will write the script for the pilot and act as producers.
Producer Bill Haber will executive-produce through Ostar Productions, which was responsible for the 2006 Emmy-nominated miniseries Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King, based on King’s short stories.
"We are honoured to be working with Stephen King – a master storyteller who understands the importance of culturally embedded tales that resonate with audiences on a deeply personal level," Karey Burke, the executive vice president of programming and development at Freeform, told Deadline.
Dozens of King's works have been adapted on the small and big screens over the past decades, including Carrie, The Shining, Cujo, and of course It. The latter, which was first published in 1986, was first turned into a miniseries in 1990, with Tim Curry as Pennywise the Dancing Clown.
A movie version of It came out in September last year, grossing more than $700m (£548) worldwide. A sequel titled It: Chapter Two is set to be released in September 2019. Bill Skarsgård will return as Pennywise, while Finn Wolfhard, Jaeden Lieberher, Sophia Lillis, Chosen Jacobs, Jack Dylan Grazer, Wyatt Olef, and Jeremy Ray Taylor will reprise their original roles.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments