One of the biggest changes Boone and Cavell, the latter of whom serves as showrunner, make to the narrative is an early focus on Harold, here played with complexity and gusto by Owen Teague. King’s sprawling novel is home to a lengthy cast of characters, and one of the most compelling, both on the page and in this adaptation, is Harold Lauder. When it does, it’s riveting television when it doesn’t, well, it’s not boring.įor the uninitiated, “The Stand” centers on a good old-fashioned battle between good and evil, writ large against the backdrop of a world devastated by a pandemic. It’s a sometimes dazzling, often frustrating, and undeniably assured effort that swings hard and occasionally connects. The character development in this adaptation, the first episode of which arrives this week via CBS’ streaming service, is a hell of a mixed bag, and that’s true of the miniseries as a whole.

I’ll admit that the “Skyscraper” moment almost doesn’t work-the writers are in on the joke, but the character is not, and it rankles a bit-but all the same, it’s hard not to wish for more such moments in this take on “The Stand.” Any King adaptation lives and dies by its characters.

The last stand stephen king