Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

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

Clémence Michallon
Wednesday 31 October 2018 22:07 GMT
Comments
(Getty/Warner Bros)

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. 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.

Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

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

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in