The Shining spin-off series in the pipeline from JJ Abrams
New show Overlook will tell untold stories from the world's creepiest hotel
We’ve had a hit movie. We’ve had a sequel film starring Ewan McGregor. And now we’re getting a TV show – all inspired by Stephen King’s seminal horror novel The Shining.
The spin-off series comes courtesy of Bad Robot – the production company headed by Star Wars and Star Trek director JJ Abrams – who are developing it for upcoming US streaming service HBO Max.
Titled Outlook, the new horror-thriller show will explore untold stories of the titular Overlook Hotel, the primary setting of The Shining and its sequel, Doctor Sleep.
Key castings are yet to be announced, but it’s been confirmed Abrams and Bad Robot’s head of television, Ben Stephenson (who’s worked on the likes of Westworld), will serve as executive producers.
The show’s ten episodes are also rumoured to be written by Dustin Thomason and Scott Brown (who penned other Stephen King series Castle Rock), according to The Hollywood Reporter.
While it will air on streaming platform HBO Max, it’s not currently clear how UK viewers will be able to view it. Indeed, neither is it clear how UK audiences will be able to warch JJ Abram's other TV series, the Dark Justice League, which was commissioned alongside Overlook.
HBO Max was originally set to launch in the US this May with a brand new Friends reunion special. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the highly-anticipated show has been postponed to a later date.
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Authors
Thomas is Digital editor at BBC Science Focus. Writing about everything from cosmology to anthropology, he specialises in the latest psychology, health and neuroscience discoveries. Thomas has a Masters degree (distinction) in Magazine Journalism from the University of Sheffield and has written for Men’s Health, Vice and Radio Times. He has been shortlisted as the New Digital Talent of the Year at the national magazine Professional Publishers Association (PPA) awards. Also working in academia, Thomas has lectured on the topic of journalism to undergraduate and postgraduate students at The University of Sheffield.