Co-written by Stephen King and son Owen, the novelSleeping Beautiescould be heading to the small screen as AMC has ordered a pilot script. Owen King will be writing the script for the pilot, with the open-ended goal of the story being adapted as a TV series for the network. Michael Sugar and Ashley Zalta of Sugar23 are executive producing. While Stephen doesn’t seem to be personally involved in the planned small screen adaptation, he confirmed its development by offering his support for the project. “I’m tremendously excited to seeSleeping Beautiesbrought to life in a format that will allow the story to be told as it was meant to be told, in all its mystery and drama,” the legendary author said in a statement.
Though it has its eerie moments,Sleeping Beautiesis not the typical kind of horror story you might expect fromthe King family. The book is set in the small Appalachian town of Dooling at some point in the near future, following local sheriff Lila Norcross. A mysterious sickness known as “Aurora” begins to spread across the planet, affecting only the women of the world. It causes them to fall into a heavy sleep, which takes them to another place. While they’re under, the women’s bodies are also cocooned in a bizarre substance. Anyone who tries to open the cocoon or otherwise wake them causes the sleeping women to turn homicidally violent, viciously killing the person who dares disturb their slumber.
Stephen Kingis certainly one of the most prolific authors of all time, and he seems to have passed that creative talent on down to his children. His son Joe published his first book20th Century Ghostsin 2005, which is a compiled collection of short stories. To separate himself from his father’s shadow, he used the pen name Joe Hill, only confirming his relationship to the King family after achieving his own success. He has written many acclaimed stories since, includingNOS4A2,Locke & Key, andStrange Weather. Like his brother, King’s other son Owen released a book of short stories in 2005 before later publishingDouble Featurein 2013. His next literary work came in 2017 with the release ofSleeping Beautiesin 2017, which was of course co-written with Stephen.
Speaking ofJoe Hill, AMC has adapted one of his most popular literary works as well.NOS4A2has been developed into a TV series for the network, with the premiere episode set to air on June 2. On the series, Zachary Quinto (Star Trek) will star as supernatural soul-sucker Charlie Manx, who preys upon children by promising to take them to a magical place called Christmasland. Ashleigh Cummings (Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries) co-stars as Vic McQueen, a protagonist with her own special powers who proves to be a foil for Charlie’s sinister plans. Because of the character’s similarities to vampires, the title of the series is a take onNosferatu, with the name brandished on the vanity plate of Charlie’s car.
Because AMC has only ordered the pilot, there’s no guaranteeSleeping Beautieswill make it to air. If satisfied with what they see, the network will then make the decision to move forward with the show by ordering more episodes. For the sake of Owen, AMC, and the fans, hopefully everything turns out well. This information comes to us fromDeadline.
