CBS Orders Under the Dome
Image via www.giantfreakinrobot.com
Fans of Stephen King adaptations are in for a surprise: Deadline is reporting that CBS has picked up a show based on his 2009 novel Under the Dome. The series will be produced by Amblin Television, Steven Spielberg‘s production company. The 13 episode straight-to-series order is unusual, but it seems to point to the network’s faith in King’s work, Spielberg’s name recognition, and the network’s ability to promote the work.
King’s novel centers on a small town in New England that is mysteriously covered by an enormous dome that separates it from the rest of the world. One of the things that most interests me about the current project is that it is the same project I reported on almost a full year ago. The project was apparently put into turnaround at Showtime which is how it ended up landing at CBS. This also means the project is still being written by Brian K. Vaughan. According to the reports, Vaughan has kept the novel’s original conceit, and many of the characters, but has made some story changes and character additions to help mold it as a series. Apparently all of these changes have been met with King’s blessing. I haven’t read the novel myself, but apparently there has been some level of controversy over how King chose to conclude it. Vaughan also seems to be changing the ending or at least writing things so that the series could last several years before coming to that end.
Under the Dome is currently scheduled to air next summer and aims to be the network’s highest profile summer series to-date.
