Drama Chapelwaite will not see a second season on MGM Plus. Based on a Stephen King short story called “Jerusalem’s Lot,” the series premiered on Epix in 2021. Epix transitioned into MGM Plus earlier this year. 

Adrien Brody plays sea captain Charles Boone, who relocates his three children to his ancestral home in the sleepy town of Preacher’s Corners, Maine, after his wife dies at sea. He soon confronts his family’s secrets. 

Emily Hampshire is also in the cast. 

“I’m afraid Captain Boone’s story ends on that beach of weathered, Maine sand. There will be no season 2.  Thank you to all the Chapelwaite fans! #Chapelwaite,” said executive producer Jason Filardi on X. 

Brody executive produces the series with Filardi, Donald DeLine, Peter Filardi and Burr Steers. 

“Jerusalem’s Lot” appeared in the King short story collection Night Shift.

Reviews for Chapelwaite were mixed. The Hollywood Reporter said, “Peter and Jason Filardi’s adaptation for Epix does away with most of the plot of “Jerusalem’s Lot” and jettisons everything insinuating about the story in favor of overly spelled-out and familiar horror tropes that might recall Salem’s Lot.”

Epix is in development on second seasons for its original series Chapelwaite and Domina and has greenlit a new documentary series Women Who Rock as part of a robust list of new and returning series announced Thursday (February 3) at the premium programmer's TCA Winter Press Tour virtual presentation. 

The premium service said it is developing a second season of Chapelwaite, based on Stephen King’s short story Jerusalem’s Lot, which chronicles a family’s battle with an ancient and persistent evil. Also in development is a second season of Domina, which chronicles the struggle for control of the Roman Empire in the wake of Caesar’s death from a rare female perspective. 

New series include Women Who Rock, a four-part docuseries that pays homage to the legion of female pioneers in music; and The Making of a Haunting: The Amityville Murders, a four-part docuseries based on what the network says is the world’s most famous scary story, The Amityville Horror. 

On the sports front, the network will bring back its docuseries NFL Icons, which will profile pro football’s icons and Hall of Fame players, coaches and changemakers. Season two will feature profiles of Walter Payton, Troy Aikman, Jimmy Johnson and Cris Carter. 

The announcement of Epix’s new and returning shows comes on the heels of the network’s February 20 debut of horror series From, the April 24 premiere of Billy the Kid and the third-season renewal of Godfather of Harlem. 

“I am incredibly proud of the premium programming that Epix continues to produce,” Epix president Michael Wright said. “Women Who Rock, The Amityville Murders and and the second season of NFL Icons follow in the footsteps of acclaimed docuseries like Laurel Canyon, Punk and Mr. A and Mr. M: The History of A&M Records, and they exemplify our brand promise to make prestigious and thought-provoking programming with the best storytellers in the industry.”

Epix’s development slate, along with network-provided show descriptions, includes:  

Hotel Cocaine

Blue skies and bikinis. Sex and sand. Bullets and blow. This is the story of Roman Compte, Cuban exile, CIA operative and general manager of the Hotel Mutiny, the glamorous epicenter of the late '70s, early '80s Miami cocaine scene. The Hotel Mutiny was Casablanca on cocaine, a glitzy nightclub, restaurant, and hotel frequented by Florida businessmen and politicians, international narcos, CIA and FBI agents, models, sports stars and musicians — particularly the up-and-coming Latin acts who came from South America with their instruments and four kilos of cocaine in their suitcases, and Compte was at the center, doing his best to keep it all going and fulfill his own American Dream. Epix Studios is developing, with Chris Brancato (Narcos, Godfather of Harlem) attached as writer/executive producer. 

Black Harvest 

Paris, 1952: A popular and provocative Black American author and his equally-talented but as-yet-unpublished girlfriend arrive with plans to attend the Pan African conference and to get a break from American racism, only to find themselves in the middle of a series of abductions and murders of black men. What at first appear to be casualties of the drug-drenched underground jazz scene end up being a part of something much larger with potentially global consequences in this stylish noir. Epix Studios is developing, with Carl Franklin and Ben Donald attached as executive producers. 

American Classic 

In this half-hour comedy, Broadway star and notorious narcissist Richard Bean (Kevin Kline) suffers a spectacular public meltdown, and returns to his tiny hometown and the family-run theater where he first became aware of his own brilliance. When he arrives, he is shocked to discover that his father, the former artistic director has slipped into a puppet-filled dementia, and that the once-respected theater run by his brother (Jon Tenney) and his wife (now the town’s mayor) has become, by necessity, a low-rent dinner theater serving roast beef and murder mysteries. He decides to save the town, the theater and the world by presenting a great American classic on the dinner theater stage, directed by and starring, of course, himself.  Michael Hoffman, Bob Martin, Leslie Urdang, Kevin Kline, Anthony Bregman and Miriam Mintz are attached as executive producers. American Classic is being developed as a co-production between Epix Studios and Anonymous Content’s AC Studios.

Condor Season Three

Settled into his role as a CIA case officer abroad, Joe Turner has become a foot soldier in the Agency’s Cold War against China for Africa’s substantial natural resources. But when conflict erupts in his own little corner of the continent, Joe has to prevent the proxy war from turning into World War III, even at the cost of what’s left of his soul. Condor season two was executive-produced by Jason Smilovic, Todd Katzberg, Andrew McCarthy, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Bill Bost, Shane Elrod and Brian Walsh, John Weber and Frank Siracusa. The series is a co-production by lead studios MGM Television and Skydance Television, in association with Paramount Television.

Tails of a London Dog-Walker

A half-hour comedy-drama based on the memoir London’s Number One Dog Walking Agency by Kate MacDougall. Amélie meets Bridget Jones by way of New Girl … with dogs. We follow Kate, dog-walker extraordinaire, through her magical world of perfect (and not so perfect) pooches and disastrous dates, all the while discovering who she really is. Ella Greenhill, Emma Frost, Matthew Graham and Anne Thomopoulos will serve as executive producers, with MacDougall as associate producer. Frost and Graham’s U.K.-based independent production company Watford & Essex, a joint venture with Legendary Entertainment, will produce in association with Epix Studios.

Sessions

The docuseries music fans have long been waiting for — a definitive portrait of the artist from the artists’ perspective, examining their story in their own words and songs. Combining the most effective and evocative aspects of such shows as MTV Unplugged, Austin City Limits and Behind the Music, Sessions will provide a front-row seat to an amazing concert. This four-part series will also weave behind-the-scenes footage, interviews and archival material transporting us back and forth in time, experiencing the artists’ careers then and now, capturing their continued relevance and the indelible mark they have made on global culture. Sutter Road Picture Company, in association with The Kennedy/Marshall Company, is attached as the production company, as are Frank Marshall (Laurel Canyon, Mr. A & Mr. M: The Story of A&M Records), Guss Wenner and Jason Fine (Rolling Stone), and Alison Ellwood (Laurel Canyon) as executive producers. Alison Ellwood is also attached to direct. 

Hollywood Black  

Based on the book by historian Donald Bogle, this four-part docuseries will be the definitive chronicle and re-examination of a century of the black experience in Hollywood.  From blackface to Black Power, we’ll tell the epic story of the actors, writers, directors and producers who fought for their place on the screen.  This groundbreaking series on Black Hollywood is the definitive account of the black experience on screen —as vital and essential as Ken Burns’ Jazz and Eyes on the Prize. Justin Simien (Dear White People), Forest Whitaker (Godfather of Harlem) and Nina Yang Bongiovi (Godfather of Harlem) are attached as executive producers. Donald Bogle is attached as a consulting producer. Jesse Collins Entertainment is attached as the production company. 

San Francisco Sounds (working title)

From the team behind the three-time Emmy nominated documentary Laurel Canyon, comes San Francisco Sounds, a two-part documentary series that captures the spirit of the San Francisco music scene from 1966 to 1976, where a new progressive sound embracing the psychedelic and protest movements emerging from the Bay Area was born. Framed by four of the most seminal music events in history, Monterey Pop, Altamont, Woodstock and The Last Waltz, the series is anticipated to include artists such as The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Sly and the Family Stone, Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Company, Santana, Moby Grape, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding and Steve Miller. Frank Marshall (Laurel Canyon, Mr. A & Mr. M: The Story of A&M Records), Jeff Pollack, Alex Gibney, Darryl Frank (Laurel Canyon, The Americans) and Justin Falvey (Laurel Canyon, The Americans), and Alison Ellwood (Laurel Canyon) are attached as executive producers. Alison Ellwood is also attached to direct. Jigsaw Productions is producing in association with Amblin Television and The Kennedy/Marshall Company. ■ 

Season two of Modern Love premieres on Amazon Prime Video Aug. 13. There are eight episodes in this anthology series, inspired by the New York Times column of the same name. Minnie Driver, Kit Harington and Anna Paquin are in the cast. 

The season was shot in Albany, Schenectady and Troy, New York, and internationally in London and Dublin. COVID prevented the producers from shooting in New York City, so they headed upstate. 

“We couldn’t get a big enough soundstage to keep the air flowing and do all the COVID protocol,” said John Carney, executive producer. 

COVID caused some headaches, but Carney is not complaining. “I wasn’t driving a bus in Manhattan in March or April of 2020,” he said, “or having [to do] a real job.”

Speaking of COVID, episodes include one where Lucy Boynton and Harington play characters who meet on a train in Ireland, and promise to meet again on the train two weeks later, without exchanging numbers. Then a pandemic hits. 

“I love things on trains,” Carney said, mentioning Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train and Linklater’s Before Sunset.

Carney loves that all the episodes, and the column they’re inspired by, are based on real events. “Sometimes the make-y up-y nature of a TV show — enough already,” he said. “We have an extra magic in this. This all comes back to, these things happened.”

Epix premieres drama Chapelwaite Aug. 22. Based on the Stephen King short story Jerusalem’s Lot, it is about a sea captain who relocates his three children to a seemingly sleepy town in Maine after the death of his wife. The town is not so sleepy. 

Exec producer Donald De Line met with King agent Rand Holston about adapting a King yarn, and the agent suggested Jerusalem’s Lot. “It had all the basic elements I was looking for,” De Line said, including a “great setup” and “hostile terrain.”

“The classic elements of a great Stephen King story,” he added. 

Adrien Brody, also an executive producer, plays Captain Charles Boone and Emily Hampshire portrays family governess Rebecca. De Line noted how Brody can say a lot without speaking. “He doesn’t have to say many words to do a lot of storytelling,” said the producer. 

The 10-episode series was shot in Nova Scotia, which stands in nicely for Maine. “Someone said, let’s go scout Nova Scotia, and I thought everyone had lost their minds,” De Line said. “But physically, they’re extremely similar. The countryside is beautiful and works so well for Maine.”

That region of the world was successful in managing COVID outbreaks. The cast and crew spent quarantine time in their hotel rooms, then got to work. “It was like being in a magic  bubble,” De Line said. 

Epix will premiere Chapelwaite, based on a Stephen King story and starring Adrien Brody, Aug. 22. Based on the short story “Jerusalem’s Lot,” Chapelwaite is set in the 1850s. 

Sea captain Charles Boone (Brody) relocates his three children to his ancestral home in the sleepy town of Preacher’s Corners, Maine after his wife dies at sea. He’ll soon confront his family’s secrets. 

Emily Hampshire plays Rebecca Morgan, an ambitious young woman who left Preacher’s Corners to attend college, and has returned home  to write a story for the new Atlantic Magazine. She becomes the Boone family governess at the infamous Chapelwaite manor. 

Brody executive produces the series with Donald DeLine, Jason Filardi, Peter Filardi and Burr Steers. 

Epix Studios is producing the show. 

Stephen King stories brought to TV include The Outsider on HBO, The Stand on Paramount Plus and Mr. Mercedes on Peacock. 

Epix president Michael Wright discussed Chapewaite’’s potential appeal in Multichannel News last year. “Genre fare has broad appeal, and while it might sometimes be too realistic and scary for some, it can also just as often offer an escapist catharsis for others,” said Wright. “I’m pretty confident Chapelwaite sits on the latter end of that spectrum.”

The year 2020 has been, by every indication imaginable, a nightmare. We’ve been hunkering down at home, waiting out the coronavirus, economy freefalling and anxiety skyrocketing as we dream of a return to the normal, perhaps even humdrum, lives we knew before.

Television has emerged as a key escape mechanism. And what sort of entertainment are we seeking out? For many, it’s more horror.

Stephen King, our own prince of darkness, is behind many series on air or in development. Epix, for one, is betting big on Chapelwaite, a drama targeted for a fall premiere that represents the first series from the network’s Epix Productions. Set in the 1850s, Chapelwaite follows a sea captain, played by Adrien Brody, and his children getting on after the death of the captain’s wife at sea. It is based on the King short story Jerusalem’s Lot.

“Genre fare has broad appeal, and while it might sometimes be too realistic and scary for some, it can also just as often offer an escapist catharsis for others,” Epix president Michael Wright said. “I’m pretty confident Chapelwaite sits on the latter end of that spectrum.”

Wright has worked on Stephen King adaptations before, including Salem’s Lot and Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King, both of which aired on TNT. He said King’s novels have always worked great on television. “Stephen King is literally one of our generation’s greatest storytellers,” Wright said. “His books are so wonderfully rooted in great characters and great storytelling.”

‘Stand’ Tall

Stephen King is all over television these days. There is The Outsider, starring Jason Bateman as a suburban father who may or may not have committed a murder, on HBO. There is Castle Rock, which has a second season in the works on Hulu. CBS All Access is developing The Stand, about society following the accidental release of a virus that kills much of the world’s population. Mr. Mercedes, about a retired detective (Brendan Gleeson) hung up on an unsolved mass murder case, has three seasons in the can on AT&T Audience Network.

Also in the works is The Institute, produced by Spyglass Media Group, which has David E. Kelley lined up to write and executive produce and Jack Bender to direct and exec produce.

Last week, AMC announced it will air season one of Creepshow, a series on streaming platform Shudder that is based on the 1982 Creepshow movie King wrote. King is not a producer on the series.

In the recent past was the James Franco limited series 11/22/63 on Hulu, about a time traveler trying to stop the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and Under the Dome, about a Maine town suddenly cut off from the world when a giant dome drops over it, which went for three seasons on CBS and Amazon.

Going further back, CBS did a Salem’s Lot series in 1979; ABC had It in 1990 and a miniseries version of The Stand in 1994; and USA Network aired The Dead Zone starting in 2002. A&E premiered Bag of Bones in 2011.

King’s novels have led to dozens of films too, including 1980’s The Shining, 1983’s The Dead Zone, 1990’s Misery, 1995’s Dolores Claiborne, 2017’s It and 2019’s Pet Sematary.

King yarns will likely remain in demand long after coronavirus dissipates. “People like stories that have uncertainty and there’s certainly a lot of uncertainty and unpredictability in the story we’re living in,” said Neal Baer, who was showrunner and executive producer on Under the Dome.

Well-Loved IP

King’s next book, If It Bleeds, comes out April 28, published by Scribner. It is a collection of novellas, including Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, The Life of Chuck, Rat and the title story.

In our peak TV world, Stephen King is a bankable trove of intellectual property, network executives and producers agree. Veteran producer David Friendly, currently working on USA Network drama Queen of the South, noted King’s “preposterously good” batting average in terms of his novels making a mark on popular culture. “When you spend the amount you have to spend [to produce a series], you try to mitigate risk,” he said. “There are enormous financial risks and Stephen King is a very good bet — and one of the few safe bets.”

When so many shows are clamoring for viewers’ attention, it sure helps to have Stephen King’s name stamped on a project. “In the 500-show universe, a name like Stephen King always carries weight and always carries value,” Old Dominion University assistant professor of communications Myles McNutt said.

That King is still living and writing makes the author that much more desirable to producers. King has 5.8 million followers on Twitter. He’s active on the platform, tweeting on March 8: “No, coronavirus is NOT like THE STAND. It’s not anywhere near as serious. It’s eminently survivable. Keep calm and take all reasonable precautions.”

When King talks up a TV show on the platform, it drives viewership. “King is very prolific, and still active,” McNutt added.

First-Class Characters

Producers also note that King, known for his horror novels, is a very diverse author whose work goes well beyond horror. Hit 1986 film Stand By Me was based on the King short story The Body and has no real horror in it, minus a few pesky leeches. The 1994 film The Shawshank Redemption, based on a King novella, is a taut emotional drama much more than it’s a horror flick.

Producers are drawn to King’s singular characters as much as any boogeyman the author dreams up. “Stephen King creates indelible characters — both Everyman characters and others who are wholly idiosyncratic,” said Bridget Carpenter, who was showrunner/executive producer on 11/22/63. “And, of course, terrifying villains and atmospheres! He is also a master of story — his plots move swiftly and unfold inexorably; they sweep you along. This is wonderful for TV.”

Neal Baer got a good look at King’s storytelling skills when he worked on Under the Dome. “His books are so visual,” he said. “He has all the things you look for when you’re developing a TV series or a movie.”

Popular books can be great TV fodder, bringing in pre-existing fan bases. But King has few, if any, rivals among authors in Hollywood. Harlan Coben has a deal with Netflix to develop 14 existing and future projects, including new drama The Stranger. Agatha Christie, who died in 1976, has her name on Agatha Christie’s The Pale Horse, which premiered on Amazon March 13. James Patterson had two seasons of Instinct and three of Zoo on CBS.

‘Dark Tower’ Goes Dark

Not every Stephen King novel TV tries to adapt turns into a hit series. The Mist, about a small town infected by a curious mist, lasted for just one season in 2017 on Spike. Joyland, about a college kid who spends a summer working at an amusement park and who confronts the legacy of a dreadful murder, was in development at Freeform in 2018 but did not make it to pilot.

The Dark Tower, an eight-book series about a gunslinger doing his thing in a magical American West, was a high-profile fail on Amazon. Executive producer Glen Mazzara shared on Twitter that his cast and crew “took big risks” on The Dark Tower, and “delivered big time” on a compelling adaptation. “We worked hard to honor this amazing story and bring it to life,” he added.

The future of Mr. Mercedes is uncertain. Audience Network is transitioning to a preview network for HBO Max. Mr. Mercedes may continue on the streaming network, which debuts in May. Audience Network did not comment.

An Author and a Gentleman

Producers who have spent time with King describe him as a stand-up guy who is deeply invested in his TV adaptations. On Under the Dome, King read and weighed in on all of the scripts. He would not pay a visit to the set in Los Angeles, but took on most everything else he was asked to. “You can’t ask for a better collaborator,” Baer said. “I’d love to work with Stephen King again.”

King declined requests to be interviewed for this story, saying through a representative that he was too busy working on his next book.

Having worked with King on a couple projects prior to Chapelwaite, Wright knows how to get the most out of the partnership. “If you’re smart, you run as much of it by him as you can,” he said.

Carpenter would love to work with King again, saying how much fun it would be to bring 1980 pyrokinesis novel Firestarter to series.

Great Expectations

While coronavirus can seem like something King might have dreamed up for a novel, producers stress a key difference between a King project and COVID-19. Frightful as they are, King’s novels offer a resolution at the end. With corona, the resolution has not yet been revealed. “There’s an attraction we have to well told, thrilling stories, stories that have an explanation,” Baer said. “Human nature likes scary things, but where there’s a resolution — you kind of know things are going to be OK.”

Epix president Wright said the coronavirus crisis is having “a profound impact” on our entertainment choices. “It’s difficult to say how these current events will impact viewer preferences,” he said. “But interestingly, our post-apocalyptic series, War of the Worlds, which is running right now, is our second highest-rated series to date, and actually growing week over week.”

Wright hopes he has another hit on his hands when Chapelwaite gets to air. He likens King to a modern era Charles Dickens, able to create “relatable and recognizable” characters.

“The real genius of Stephen King is his characters,” Wright said. “That’s the necessary ingredient of every great series or film ever made. That’s why adaptations of King are so effective — they’re unforgettable characters that you care about.”

KING’S BOUNTY
A look at some of Stephen King’s works that have been adapted to TV

The Dead Zone

Network: USA Network
Years: 2002-2007
Review: “Turns out to be an engaging new hour, boasting crisp writing, near-cinematic production values and an almost failsafe plot.” — Chicago Tribune

Bag of Bones

Network: A&E
Year: 2011
Review: “Handsomely shot and deliberately paced, it has a superficially cinematic quality, but it doesn’t have the storytelling juice to keep you engaged in Mr. King’s convoluted multi-ghost story.” — The New York Times

Creepshow

Network: Shudder
Year: 2019
Review: “Casual horror fans may not really get the appeal of Creepshow, but it’s not made for them anyway. Horror aficionados, on the other hand, will find a lot to like.” — TV Guide

Castle Rock

Network: Hulu
Years: 2018-2019
Review: “In every respect it’s the equal of, and largely superior to, any of the actual King adaptations that have come to television lately.” — Los Angeles Times