Stephen King’s classic books are tied to a specific era in US history. The white picket fences and creeping dread of his New England horror universe are tied up in the ’70s and ’80s, to Carter and Reagan, with nostalgia inside of them dating even further back.
One of Castle Rock‘s most interesting decisions, then, in making a televised tribute to that entire oeuvre, is setting it in the present.
In a new behind-the-scenes feature courtesy of Syfy Wire, the creators talk about that choice, and how it re-situates and displaces the nostalgia of that era onto a much bleaker present.
I think it’s a really interesting idea — using the time period of the show to comment on and complicate King’s relationship to the past — and it just makes me more enthused for this creepy, compelling show.
The first season of Castle Rock finished up last month, and a second is already confirmed.