Castle Rock is the horror TV show Stephen King fans have been waiting for

The series is a patchwork of knowing nods drawing from several of his books

Instead of serving as a direct adaptation of any Stephen King novel, new series Castle Rock is a standalone series infused with his DNA. Hulu teased its first run of ten episodes as combining the mythology of the beloved author's novels with his intimate storytelling said to feature new characters altogether.

Just one scene in, however, and avid readers will know this is not strictly true. The opening of the first episode sees a sheriff discover a missing child stood alone in the middle of a frozen lake back in 1981. His name? Pangborn - that's Alan Pangborn, the same sheriff who fought evil spirits in both The Dark Half and Needful Things. Jump forward to 2018 and we see a man - played by Lost star Terry O'Quinn - tie a noose around his neck before driving his car into a river. He's later revealed to be the warden of a corrections facility named... Shawshank.

The series follows a present-day story focused on the aforementioned missing child who grows up to be criminal law attorney (André Holland) who returns to Maine following the discovery of a mysterious young inmate in an abandoned cell block of Shawshank prison.

Stephen King fans would have been very aware of Castle Rock before it even began considering it completes a triumvirate of fictional towns he sets his novels in. Its appearances have ranged from works published in 1979 (The Dead Zone) to 2014 (Revival).

While several filmmakers have found fresh interest in King's work (It, The Dark Tower, Cell - all released in 2017), this is one show that stands out. Shunning the page-for-page adaptation in favour of creating something in the author's spirit is a genius stroke considering his self-referential work lends itself so well to such a decision.

Castle Rock - produced by J.J. Abrams - is a patchwork comprised of knowing nods designed to create excitement for avid readers and draw newcomers in with its alluring chutzpah: episode two sees a rabid dog rampaging through town (Cujo) while mention of a young boy's body being found on train tracks is a reference to King's novella The Body that was later adapted into coming-of-age classic Stand By Me. Hell, Carrie herself Sissy Spacek even stars not to mention Bill Skarsgård who recently played Pennywise in It.

The series' co-creator Sam Shaw recently confirmed that the series will be an anthology focusing on a new story set within the fictional town each season: "Our plan was always to approach each season as an unwritten Stephen King novel," he told Bloody Disgusting.

While season one has been written very much in the vain of The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile - "stories dealing with incarceration" -He described Castle Rock, he's acknowledged that future seasons could delve into the more supernatural elements at play in King's work.

Shaw added: “We hope to have the latitude to come back to future seasons and just tell a great monster story set in like 1974 or a different kind of story under the influence of a very different novel."

Get those Stephen King bingo cards at the ready.

Castle Rock airs in the US on Hulu with a UK release date yet to be announced.