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HBO Max has taken a pass on The Shining spin-off series Overlook.
Announced in 2020, Overlook was shopped to HBO Max as part of a three-series deal from J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot Productions and Warner Bros. Television. This package also included Justice League Dark and an original show called Duster.
According to Deadline's report HBO Max "liked the project but felt it was not a fit for them at this time." Strong interest from other streamers – including Netflix – means we'll likely see the show scooped up by another interested platform in the coming weeks.
Both production teams united previously for another King project, Castle Rock, an original series set in the fictional location popularised in many of the horror meister's novels. The show debuted on Amazon Prime in the UK and Hulu in the US, which could be where Overlook ends up?
Overlook is written by Dustin Thomason and Scott Brow, who both worked on Castle Rock, and is dubbed a horror-thriller "inspired by and featuring iconic characters" from Stephen King's novel. Over its ten episodes, the show "explores the untold, terrifying stories of the most famous haunted hotel in American fiction." We know little else about the show, but as it's set to feature "iconic" characters, might we finally get an onscreen adaptation diving into the bear suit guy's sordid past?
The sinister hotel first appeared onscreen in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 adaptation of The Shining, which King famously didn't care for. Since then, the Overlook appeared in a Shining miniseries penned by the author which is fine, and more recently in Mike Flanagan's sublime adaptation of King's Shining sequel, Doctor Sleep.
This isn't the only Bad Robot property in the works at HBO Max – far from it. Aside from Lovecraft Country, sadly canceled after only one season, Abrams' company is developing sci-fi fantasy drama Demimonde, getaway driver drama Duster, clinical trial adventure Subject to Change, and Westworld season 4.
