‘Castle Rock’ EP Says Hulu Series ‘Isn’t Just for Die-Hard Stephen King Superfans’

Looking for a wooded New England town where you can spend your summer vacation in abject terror? Try Castle Rock, Maine.

Horror maestro Stephen King set some of his most gruesome novels, including Cujo and Needful Things, in the fictional location. Now the Hulu thriller — made with King’s blessing and executive produced by J.J. Abrams — taps into the town’s buried secrets to release a fresh gusher of gore.

See Also

Hulu's Stephen King Series 'Castle Rock' Gets Premiere Date, New Teaser

The teaser raises questions about how Stephen King's famously creepy town got to be that way.

No need to read up before viewing either: “This isn’t just for die-hard Stephen King superfans,” notes Sam Shaw, who executive produces with Dusty Thomason.

In the premiere, death-row defense attorney and divorced dad Henry Deaver (André Holland) reluctantly returns to his hometown — and adoptive mom Ruth (Sissy Spacek) — after receiving an anonymous call asking for legal help. The summons leads him to Shawshank Penitentiary (yes, that one) and a hollow-eyed prisoner known only as The Kid (It’s Bill Skarsgård).

Sissy Spacek as Ruth (HULU)

The drama jumps between the 1990s, with an unexplained incident from Henry’s childhood, and the present, just in time for a rather imaginative suicide. The body count climbs from there. “Henry’s homecoming starts the journey for everyone in Castle Rock,” says Thomason. “He unifies their stories.”

Jane Levy as Jackie (HULU)

Castle Rock, Series Premiere, Wednesday, July 25, Hulu