Not one to be left out of all those Stephen King adaptations headed for film, television have also got themselves attached to one of his apparently very-adaptable novels: Yes, Under The Dome, which has been in development for a number of years now, will makes its debut next year for a 13-episode run.
The original novel, first published in 2009, concerns the small American town of Chester’s Mill, one which is plunged into chaos after finding itself separated from society by means of a giant invisible dome. What ensues is extremely Stephen King, what with some people being good and others being really evil, and something something allegory.
The show was originally headed for Showtime, but will now find itself in the cleaner hands of CBS, meaning that, no, the violence won’t be as graphic as we all wanted it to be, and yes, all of the swearing will find itself uncomfortably lacking. Don’t fear just yet: Steven Spielberg is still attached to produce (and that man knows a thing or two about invisible domes – didn’t you see War of the Worlds?), Brian K. Vaughn’s scripts are still set to be used, and Niels Arden Oplev, director of the original The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, will take the reins for the first chapter.
King’s book is – of course – large enough to be wielded as an offensive weapon, meaning that there’s plenty of room to take this thing all slow and atmospheric, though let’s be frank: as long as they leave in that bit where the gardener’s hand is sliced off when the dome appears, nobody will complain. That’s a really great bit.
Source: A.V. Club