TV Show News

UNDER THE DOME (2013): Stephen King, Steven Spielberg CBS Show to Air

Stephen King Under the Dome

Under the Dome adapted for CBS. Stephen King’s Under the Dome is being adapted into a TV show for 2013 on CBS with Steven Spielberg producing. CBS has given Under the Dome a 13 episode order, bypassing the traditional pilot route. The series will air in the summer of 2013, like the next season of Falling Skies, which is also produced by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment. Niels Arden Oplev is directing Under the Dome‘s first episode and Brian K. Vaughan is writing the series.

On the changes of the narrative from book to screen:

Advertisement
 

Vaughan’s adaptaion ‘kept the general conceit and many of the characters from the book but also introduced some new characters as regulars and tweaked some details and backstory for the existing ones.’ King has reportedly signed off on the changes and the ending of these 13 episodes will depend on whether or not a second season is greenlit or not.

The plot synopsis for the book Under the Dome:

On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day in Chester’s Mill, Maine, the town is inexplicably and suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into it and fall from the sky in flaming wreckage, a gardener’s hand is severed as “the dome” comes down on it, people running errands in the neighboring town are divided from their families, and cars explode on impact. No one can fathom what this barrier is, where it came from, and when — or if — it will go away. Dale Barbara, Iraq vet and now a short-order cook, finds himself teamed with a few intrepid citizens — town newspaper owner Julia Shumway, a physician’s assistant at the hospital, a select-woman, and three brave kids. Against them stands Big Jim Rennie, a politician who will stop at nothing — even murder — to hold the reins of power, and his son, who is keeping a horrible secret in a dark pantry. But their main adversary is the Dome itself. Because time isn’t just short. It’s running out.

Simon and Schuster, the publisher of Under the Dome, pre and post airing strategy:

CBS and sibling Simon & Schuster, whose Scribner imprint published the book in November 2009, will cross-promote the TV series and book in advance of the show’s summer launch with the April 2013 re-release of trade paperback and electronic editions from its Pocket Books imprint. In addition to the CBS broadcast, Under The Dome will have a multi-platform window available for each episode shortly after the network airing.

I read the first chapter of Under the Dome when it first came out, found the premise intriguing but didn’t buy the book. This news has re-ignited my interest in it. How about you?

Leave your thoughts on Under the Dome coming to CBS below in the comments section. For more Under the Dome photos, videos, and information, visit our Under the Dome Page, subscribe to us by Email, follow us on Twitter or on Facebook.

Source: Slashfilm, Deadline

FilmBook's Newsletter

Subscribe to FilmBook’s Daily Newsletter for the latest news!

Thank you for subscribing.

Something went wrong.

Rollo Tomasi

Rollo Tomasi is a Connecticut-based film critic, TV show critic, news, and editorial writer. He will have a MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University in 2025. Rollo has written over 700 film, TV show, short film, Blu-ray, and 4K-Ultra reviews. His reviews are published in IMDb's External Reviews and in Google News. Previously you could find his work at Empire Movies, Blogcritics, and AltFilmGuide. Now you can find his work at FilmBook.
Back to top button
Share via
Send this to a friend