Freeform to Adapt Stephen King’s ‘Joyland’ to Series

Freeform has greenlit the series Joyland, which is based on a Stephen King novel. Joyland tells the story of Devin, a college student who takes a summer job at an amusement park in a North Carolina tourist town, confronts the legacy of a vicious murder and the fate of a dying child, and the way both will change his life forever.

“We are honored to be working with Stephen King – a master storyteller who understands the importance of culturally embedded tales that resonate with audiences on a deeply personal level,” said Karey Burke, executive VP, programming and development, Freeform. “We can’t wait for Joyland to become part of Freeform’s offerings and haunt our viewers as only Stephen can.”

Bill Haber’s Ostar Productions is executive producer on Joyland, with Chris Peña and Cyrus Nowrasteh to write the pilot script and produce.

Other King books that have been adapted to television include Hulu series Castle Rock and 11.22.63 and AT&T Audience Network series Mr. Mercedes.

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.