Castle Rock is an "All-You-Can-Eat Stephen King Buffet," for better and worse

Dallas Observer

Hulu's new Stephen King-themed series from J.J. Abrams and King is "more a King-flavored time killer" than "some grand statement of Kinglyness. It’s a thing to watch rather than something you can’t miss," says Alan Scherstuhl. Think of it as Trivial Pursuit: Stephen King Edition. "In its first 10 minutes, Hulu’s horror-drama Castle Rock establishes itself as something of a Stephen King buffet, a comfort-food miniseries providing familiar, undistinguished fare that’s lightly spiced with proper nouns you might recall from earlier, better meals," says Scherstuhl. "Here’s Castle Rock, the small town haunted by the memory of horrors everyone politely agrees not to mention out loud, a miserable burg where the only jobs are at the local prison, Shawshank."

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• Castle Rock is a creepy and captivating expansion of Stephen King's universe
• It has both too much and too little Stephen King
• Castle Rock is in danger of being more about Easter Eggs than an "honest-to-goodness narrative"
• Castle Rock is a smart and addictive dive into King's work
• Mediocrity is the real monster on Castle Rock
• One original departure from King is Castle Rock's sophisticated treatment of race -- one of King’s major Achilles’ heels was his “magical Negro” characters
• Castle Rock has fun and deep scares, breathing new life into King's work
• It's like a version of Stranger Things "where the nods to King are direct, fully authorized, and intellectual-property-lawyer-approved"
• Castle Rock is more of a character drama than a horror thriller -- it has more in common with The Leftovers and The Walking Dead
• Why do some Stephen King TV adaptions work, while others fail?
• Castle Rock is a showcase for actor Andre Holland