Stephen King Reveals His Disappointment with the 2013 Series ‘Under the Dome’

Stephen King has consistently expressed his views on how Hollywood interprets his works, from his famously critical stance on Stanley Kubrick’s ‘The Shining’ to his unexpected support for the poorly received ‘1408.’ With numerous adaptations of his novels and stories across film and television, King has established himself as one of the most outspoken authors regarding the treatment of his franchise.

This candidness took a different turn with ‘Under the Dome,’ the 2013 CBS series inspired by King’s 2009 novel about a small town in Maine suddenly cut off from the outside world by an unexplainable barrier. Initially, King was genuinely enthusiastic and supportive of the adaptation.

However, that initial positivity faded quickly. Reflecting on the series years later, King criticized its departure from realism, noting that even in science fiction, a grounded sense of reality is essential to keep viewers engaged, as reported by Far Out Magazine.

King’s dissatisfaction extended beyond just the writing. In an interview with The New York Times, he attributed much of the blame to CBS, stating that the network preferred a safe, filler program over a series that honored the source material. He eventually admitted to losing interest and stopped watching the show altogether.

‘Under the Dome’ began with great promise, premiering to a record-breaking 13.5 million viewers, making it the most-watched summer drama debut on any major network since 1992. King even praised the early episodes shortly after they aired, claiming the show was genuinely good television, even for fans of the original novel.

Unfortunately, that acclaim didn’t last through the show’s three-season run. Critics noted that the series was originally intended as a limited run of thirteen episodes, closely following the condensed timeline of King’s novel, which unfolds over about a week. Once CBS decided to extend the story across three full seasons, the plot diverged significantly from the source material, introducing new extraterrestrial elements and narrative choices that strayed from King’s original vision.

By the time ‘Under the Dome’ concluded in September 2015, it had earned a spot on King’s unofficial list of adaptations he considers failures, which includes other notable disappointments like Brian De Palma’s ‘Carrie.’ Rotten Tomatoes data reflects this decline, with the series’ Tomatometer score dropping from 82 percent in its first season to 60 percent by its third and final season.

King has since indicated he has little desire to revisit the topic publicly, treating the show’s shortcomings as a settled issue rather than something to discuss in interviews. For an author who typically shares his thoughts on adaptations of his work, this silence speaks volumes about how far ‘Under the Dome’ fell short of its initial promise.

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