Sadly, critics and audiences weren’t so kind to King’s version of the story.
In 1994, he created, wrote, and directed the miniseriesThe Kingdom.
The Kingdomis best described as terrifyingly weird,sort of like a Danish version ofTwin Peaks.
Image by Zanda Rice
The miniseries moved from Copenhagen to Maine, of course, and is just as odd as the original.
What was Stanley Kubrick up to?
ProducerRichard Doolingexplained toLilja’s Librarythat Stephen King primarily wrote most of the scripts.
Image via ABC
Why Didn’t ‘Kingdom Hospital’ Succeed?
Something was missing for audiences.
Were American viewers expecting a series that was less offbeat,or more scary like King’s novels?
Image via ABC
Or wasKingdom Hospitaljust weird enough that it was only going to attract a certain viewer?
Mainstream viewers simply weren’t interested, it appeared.
King got his choice of writers and producers, and the budgeting and scheduling went well.
It didn’t matter how promisingKingdom Hospitalwas if no one was watching.
What mostly went wrong is thatKingdom Hospitalsimply came out at the wrong time on the wrong platform.
Instead, it’s a small footnote in Stephen King’s colossal career.
