'Castle Rock' season 2: Release date, plot, cast, and everything you need to know about the Stephen King anthology series
If you're a fan of 'Castle Rock', here's some good news for you. Inspired by characters, settings, and themes from the stories of Stephen King and his fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine, the series has been greenlit for a second installment on Hulu. Lizzy Caplan—who starred in 'Mean Girls' (2004) and 'Cloverfield' (2008)—will take on the role of a younger version of the sociopathic killer nurse in the six-episode series. Created by Sam Shaw and Dustin Thomason, the series also had author Stephen King on its team of show makers.
Release date
The US premiere date of the second season of 'Castle Rock' is on Wednesday, October 23.
Plot
"A feud between warring clans comes to a boil when budding psychopath Annie Wilkes, Stephen King's nurse from hell, gets waylaid in Castle Rock," reads the official synopsis.
Elucidating the idea behind the series, Thomason told Den of Geek: “The basic idea is that it is an anthology in the sense that we're going to tell a new story that gives you a different lens into Castle Rock and into Stephen King each season. The thing we've always been really excited about, in the same way that the Stephen King universe operates, is that each story will stand alone, but that we will be circling back to characters whose stories intersect with the new stories.”
Cast
Lizzy Caplan
Lizzy Caplan takes on the lead role of Annie Wilkes in season two. Struggling with mental health issues, Annie is a nurse, who gets stuck in Castle Rock. The actress played the role of Virginia E. Johnson on 'Masters of Sex' and clinched a Primetime Emmy, Satellite, and Critics' Choice Award nomination for it. Her other film appearances include 'Hot Tub Time Machine', '127 Hours', 'Save the Date', 'Bachelorette', 'The Interview', 'Now You See Me 2', 'Allied' and 'Extinction'.
Tim Robbins
Tim Robbins plays the role of Reginald "Pop" Merrill, the dying head of the Merrill crime family. Best known for his portrayal of Andy Dufresne in the prison drama film 'The Shawshank Redemption' (1994), the actor has won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director for directing 'Dead Man Walking'.
The other members of the cast include Paul Sparks as John "Ace" Merrill, Elsie Fisher as Joy Wilkes, Yusra Warsama as Dr. Nadia Omar, Barkhad Abdi as Abdi Omar, Matthew Alan as Chris Merrill, John Hoogenakker as "a man with a complicated connection to Annie Wilkes" and Ruby Cruz as young Annie Wilkes.
Director/Writer
Created by Sam Shaw and Dustin Thomason, it has been executive produced in association with Stephen King, J. J. Abrams, Ben Stephenson, Mark Lafferty, and Liz Glotzer. Bad Robot Productions, Old Curiosity Shop, Darkbloom Productions and Warner Bros. Television have produced the show and Robin Sweet, Tamara Isaac and Scott Brown are the producers on the series.
Where to watch
You can stream the first season on Hulu and the second season of 'Castle Rock' airs on Hulu in the United States on October 23 but does not yet have a release date in the UK.
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