TCA 2019: CBS All Access to Offer ‘The Stand’ Series

Pasadena, Calif. — CBS All Access is adapting the Stephen King novel The Stand to series. The streaming service is on board for 10 episodes and the series will debut in 2020.

King’s novels are in demand by TV networks. Hulu has 11.22.63 and Castle Rock, AT&T Audience Network does Mr. Mercedes and Freeform is adapting Joyland.

The Stand looks at society following the accidental release of a virus that kills much of the world’s population.

Related: ‘The Twilight Zone’ Debuts on CBS All Access April 1

Josh Boone and Ben Cavell will write and executive produce. 

CBS All Access will have nine original series this year, including Strange Angel, Star Trek: Discovery,Tell Me a Story and Why Women Kill. Season three of The Good Fight, from Michelle and Robert King, starts March 14. Christine Baranski and Audra McDonald are in the cast.

Marc Debevoise, president and COO of CBS Interactive, speaking at CBS All Access's portion of the TCA 2019 Winter Press Tour, called originals “a huge focus” for CBS All Access.

The average age of a CBS All Access viewer is 44, said Debevoise, and the network’s subscribers are 52% male and 48% female. Fully 80% of viewing happens on TVs through connected devices, or smart TVs.

After the premiere of CBSN New York in December, Debevoise said the next local installment, CBSN Los Angeles, starts early in 2019, though he did not specify a date.

The Super Bowl will stream on CBS All Access. Debevoise called it “a huge growth opportunity” for both CBS All Access and CBS Sports HQ. 

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.