Castle Rock

Starring: Bill Skarsgard (12 episodes), Andre Holland (10 episodes), Lizzy Caplan (10 episodes), Melanie Lynskey (10 episodes), Paul Sparks (10 episodes), Barkhad Abdi (10 episodes), Jane Levy (10 episodes), Yusra Warsama (10 episodes), Sissy Spacek (10 episodes), Elsie Fisher (10 episodes), Matthew Alan (10 episodes), Tim Robbins (10 episodes), Caleel Harris (9 episodes), Scott Glenn (8 episodes), Adam Rothenberg (8 episodes), Aaron Stanton (7 episodes), Tenea Intriago (7 episodes), Noel Fisher (6 episodes), Alison Wright (6 episodes), Faysal Ahmed (6 episodes), Abby Corrigan (6 episodes), Georgia Lyman (6 episodes), Ann Cusack (5 episodes), Skylan Brooks (5 episodes), Isayas Theodros (5 episodes), Chris Mulkey (5 episodes), Jeffrey Pierce (5 episodes), Joy Lang (5 episodes), Owen Burke (5 episodes), Greg Grunberg (4 episodes), Chosen Jacobs (4 episodes), Chris Coy (4 episodes), Rory Culkin (4 episodes), Terry O'Quinn (4 episodes), Sarah Gadon (2 episodes), Schuyler Fisk (2 episodes)
Directed by: Greg Yaitanes (3 episodes), Michael Uppendahl (3 episodes), Phil Abraham (2 episodes), Anne Sewitsky (2 episodes), Ana Lily Amirpour (1 episode), Kevin Hooks (1 episode)
Rating: TV-MA
Genre: Horror, Drama
2018-2019

Seasons Seen:
Tim: 1 - 2

Summary: Strange occurrences take place around the small town of Castle Rock, Maine .

Review:
Tim: I still remember the excitement I felt when I first heard that Hulu and J.J. Abrams were partnering to create an anthology series set in Stephen King's Castle Rock. I immediately loved the idea. I'm a big fan of King (I've read 23 of his books) and I could see the immense potential here. The series lasted for 2 seasons at Hulu before being canceled and while it was good, I don't think it ever lived up to its full potential. I was slightly dismayed when I heard about the cancellation, but a tiny bit relieved, too. The first and second seasons were quite different, but they featured some truly great moments. The problems come from the scripts themselves. There's great fan service moments, but neither season told a truly effective story.

I have to say that some of these realizations came after watching the first season. As I got ready to watch season 2, my wife asked if she'd watched the first season. She had, but had no memory of it. "How do you not remember?" I asked. Remember, there was the guy held in the basement of the prison and..." I drew a blank. What was the first season about again? It was almost like the story had been wiped from my memory. I recall being intrigued by the mystery, by enjoying the season. The problem is that it wasn't memorable in the least. It was too ambiguous, too ill-defined to be something that stays with you. The episodes were good, but the story they told didn't quite add up.

I recently finished the second season, and I suspect that it'll be slightly more memorable than the first. However, I'll also lose a lot of what happened. The Annie Wilkes focus will help, but the story wasn't all that engaging. Besides Annie, I didn't feel very invested in any of the characters. It was hard to care about them. Again, the second season isn't bad, but it was never as effective as it could have been. It was good, but somewhat disappointing.

One of the things I loved about the series was its ability to play in the Stephen King world, but tell original stories. Having the second season be focused on a younger Annie Wilkes, for example. Or featuring Sissy Spacek is the first season (who didn't play Carrie, but obviously has a close connection to King's world). It was really cool to see these different elements come together in a new way. That was fun and while the stories didn't develop as well as they should have, it was enjoyable to watch these episodes.

Both seasons assembled strong casts. Having Bill Skarsgard featured was great. He'd just established a strong legacy with his portrayal of Pennywise, so it was entertaining to see him play a different character. Andre Holland was decent as the first season's protagonist. I might not have loved his performance, but I didn't have many complaints. Melanie Lynskey and Sissy Spacek both added in strong supporting performances. I always love seeing Scott Glenn, and although his role was very small, Terry O'Quinn was a welcome addition, too. The second season was bolstered by a tremendous performance by Lizzy Caplan. She channels Kathy Bates' Annie Wilkes but also makes the troubled woman her own. I truly loved what Caplan did and I would continuously marvel at her performance. It's incredible. Tim Robbins added a strong performance, too. I didn't love his character or his storyline, but it was wonderful seeing Robbins in a meaty role. It's been too long since I saw him last. I really liked Paul Sparks on his House of Cards days and it was fun seeing him here, in a very different role. Barkhad Abdi added a nice supporting performance as well. I wasn't a fan of Yusra Warsama. She was far too bland for the role, which hurt the second season significantly. I'm not convinced Elsie Fisher is a strong actress, but she worked fairly well as Wilkes' daughter. As a whole, the casts of both seasons were impressive.

Castle Rock is a good series, I want to stress that. I enjoyed seeing these stories told and seeing familiar characters pop up. However, it's also a series that never lived up to its promise. It got good reviews and it deserved those, but the series could have been far better.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



If You Enjoyed This Series, We Recommend: The X-Files, The Stand, Under the Dome, Fringe