''11.22.63'' is an American

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

thriller television miniseries based on the 2011 novel '' 11/22/63'' by

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

, and consisting of eight episodes, in which a

time travel Time travel is the hypothetical activity of traveling into the past or future. Time travel is a concept in philosophy and fiction, particularly science fiction. In fiction, time travel is typically achieved through the use of a device known a ...

er attempts to stop the

assassination of John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Kennedy was in the vehicle with his wife Jacqueline Kennedy Onas ...

. The series is executive-produced by J. J. Abrams, King, Bridget Carpenter, and Bryan Burk, and produced by

James Franco James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has starred in numerous films, including Sam Raimi's Spider-Man (2002 film series), ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007), ''Milk (2008 American film), Milk'' (200 ...

, who also starred in the main role. It premiered on

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

on February 15, 2016, and was received positively by critics.

Premise

Jake Epping, a recently divorced English teacher from

Lisbon, Maine Lisbon is a New England town, town in Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,711 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is included in both the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan statistical area and the Lewis ...

, is presented with the chance to travel back in time to 1960 by his long-time friend Al Templeton. He is persuaded into going in an attempt to prevent the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963; however, he becomes attached to the life he makes in the past, which could be the mission's undoing. He must find a way to secretly gather information about people and events leading up to the assassination while also creating and maintaining a new life to avoid suspicion.

Cast and characters

Main

as Jake Epping / James Amberson *

Chris Cooper Christopher Walton Cooper (born July 9, 1951) is an American actor. Having made his debut as a stage actor, he made his Breakthrough role, breakthrough on television as Sheriff July Johnson in the acclaimed Western television miniseries ''Loneso ...

as Al Templeton * Sarah Gadon as Sadie Dunhill * Lucy Fry as Marina Oswald * George MacKay as Bill Turcotte * Daniel Webber as

Lee Harvey Oswald Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963. Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at age 12 for truan ...

Recurring and guest

Cherry Jones Cherry Jones (born November 21, 1956) is an American actress. She started her career in theater as a founding member of the American Repertory Theater in 1980 before transitioning into film and television. Celebrated for her dynamic roles on st ...

as Marguerite Oswald * Kevin J. O'Connor as the Yellow Card Man * T. R. Knight as Johnny Clayton * Josh Duhamel as Frank Dunning * Joanna Douglas as Doris Dunning * Nick Searcy as Deke Simmons * Jonny Coyne as George de Mohrenschildt * Tonya Pinkins as Mimi Corcoran * Brooklyn Sudano as Christy Epping *

Leon Rippy Leon Rippy (born October 30, 1949) is an American actor. Active on screen since 1983, Rippy has appeared in numerous films and recurring roles on television. He is best known for his roles as Earl the Angel on the series '' Saving Grace'', saloon ...

as Harry Dunning * Juliette Angelo as Bobbi Jill Allnut *

Braeden Lemasters Braeden Matthew Lemasters (born January 27, 1996) is an American musician and actor. He began his career as a child actor, receiving recognition for his role as Albert Tranelli in the TNT comedy-drama series ''Men of a Certain Age'' (2009–2011 ...

as Mike Coslaw * Anthony Colonello as Clifford * Gregory North as General Edwin Walker * Gil Bellows as Agent Hosty * Grantham Coleman as Bonnie Ray Williams * Michael O'Neill as Arliss Price *

Annette O'Toole Annette O'Toole (born Annette Toole; April 1, 1952) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She has received nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. She is known for portraying Lisa Bridges in t ...

as Edna Price * Antoni Corone as

Jack Ruby Jack Leon Ruby (born Jacob Leon Rubenstein; March 25, 1911January 3, 1967) was an American nightclub owner who murdered Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963, two days after Oswald assassinated President John F. Kennedy. Born in Chicago, R ...

* Bob Stephenson as Silent Mike *

Wilbur Fitzgerald Wilbur Fitzgerald is an American film and television actor. He is perhaps best known for playing district attorney Gerard Darnelle in the American crime drama television series '' In the Heat of the Night''. Fitzgerald appeared in numerous tele ...

as Captain Will Fritz * Constance Towers as Old Sadie *

Kelly McCormack Kelly McCormack (born January 13, 1991) is a Canadian actress, writer, director, musician and producer. As an actress she is best known for the Amazon Studios, Amazon series ''A League of Their Own (Amazon TV series), A League of Their Own'', the ...

as Dawn

Episodes

Production

Development

In August 2011, before the novel's release, it was announced that

Jonathan Demme Robert Jonathan Demme ( ; February 22, 1944 – April 26, 2017) was an American filmmaker, whose career directing, producing, and screenwriting spanned more than 30 years and 70 feature films, documentaries, and television productions. He was an ...

had attached himself to write, produce, and direct a film adaptation of ''11/22/63'' with King serving as executive producer. However, in December 2012, Demme announced that he had withdrawn from the project, after disagreeing with King over what to include in the script. On April 26, 2013, it was reported that Warner Bros. Television and J. J. Abrams'

Bad Robot Bad Robot is an American film and television production company founded on May 27, 1999, and led by Katie McGrath and J. J. Abrams as Co-CEO. Under its Bad Robot Productions division, the company is responsible for the television series '' Alia ...

were in negotiations for the rights to adapt the novel as a TV series or

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

. On September 22, 2014, it was announced that a TV series based on the novel was picked up by

. Carol Spier would be a production designer. The first trailer for the series was released on November 19, 2015. When asked about developing a sequel series, King stated, "I'd love to revisit Jake and Sadie, and also revisit the rabbit hole that dumps people into the past, but sometimes it's best not to go back for a second helping."

Casting

was chosen to star as the character of Jake Epping. After reading the novel, Franco contacted King about the rights to adapt it to film only to be told that Abrams had already acquired them. Franco wrote an essay about the book for ''Vice'', which was noticed by Abrams, and tweeted about his disappointment at not getting the film rights, which was noticed by Bridget Carpenter. Soon after, they offered him the lead role. He accepted the role under the condition that he would be able to direct part of the series. Sarah Gadon was cast for the role of Sadie Dunhill. She was interested in the role in part because it gave her the opportunity to work with Abrams.

Filming

Filming began on June 9, 2015, in Hespeler, Ontario. Filming during June 2015 also took place in

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as The Royal City, it is roughly east of Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Ontario Highway 6, ...

, Ontario, as well as in Ayr, Ontario, at the Queen's Tavern in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

, and in Knowles Restaurant in Dunnville, Ontario, during September 2015. During filming in Guelph, there was an incident where a man on a

motorized bicycle A motorized bicycle is a bicycle with an motor or engine and transmission used either to power the vehicle unassisted, or to assist with pedalling. Since it sometimes retains both pedals and a discrete connected drive for rider-powered propu ...

drove past security at high speed before being stopped whereupon he was found to have crystal meth in his possession and he was arrested. In early October, the production moved to

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

to film exterior locations at Dealey Plaza. During this time, the filming of various scenes during

rush hour A rush hour (American English, British English) or peak hour (Australian English, Indian English) is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice e ...

caused bumper to bumper traffic in the surrounding streets.

Reception

The show received positive reviews from most critics. Based on 64 reviews, the show carries an 83% rating, with an average percentage of 7.19/10, on review aggregator website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

where the consensus states: "Though the execution feels almost as dated as the period it represents, ''11.22.63'' gradually reveals a compelling, well-performed series of events." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the show has a rating of 69 out of 100, based on 35 reviews. Jack Moore of '' GQ'' commented that "the show is moody and supernatural, while somehow also remaining grounded and full of heart", and lauded Franco as the show's standout, saying "what Franco gives is a vanity-free, indulgence-free performance that feels like the work of an Old Hollywood legend. It's earnest and full-hearted." Alan Sepinwall also acclaimed Franco, stating "Franco's a revelation as Jake. He's an immensely talented actor and he's got the star quality you need to carry something this crazy, and this long." Vicki Hyman of the ''Newark Star-Ledger'' praised the performances of Franco and Gadon, writing: "Their stirring romance carries with it the same whiff of doom as Epping's visits to Dealey Plaza, and gives what could be merely an interesting and handsomely-made take on the conspiracy thriller genre more texture and depth, resonating across the ages." Hank Stuever of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' wrote that "King's work doesn't always happily travel through the portal connecting the page to the TV screen, but Hulu scores with an impressively stout-hearted, eight-part adaptation of ''11/22/63''." On the other hand, Jeff Jensen of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' had a more mixed reaction and criticized Franco's performance, calling it "low-watt" and "disinterested". He wrote "''11.22.63'' reaches some thoughtful, moving conclusions, but oh, what could have been with a more engaged star. If only there were a time machine to fix that mistake." Caroline Framke of ''Vox'' described Franco's performance as inconsistent from scene to scene, but also that the show itself creates even more ambiguity with his character. She wrote, "While he's ''technically'' old enough to portray 37-year-old Jake, Franco certainly doesn't read as anywhere close to 37, or the world-weariness Jake's supposed to exhibit." ''Slate'' author Willa Paskin believes though Franco is well known and well accomplished, he can't seem to get the "average guy" act right for this series.

Accolades

Home media

''11.22.63'' was released on DVD and

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

on August 9, 2016, in Region 1. The release includes all eight episodes, as well as a special feature titled "When the Future Fights Back", where King, Abrams, Carpenter and Franco talk about elements of the production that turned King's novel into an event series.

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control 2010s American drama television miniseries 2016 American television series debuts 2016 American television series endings American English-language television shows Hulu original programming Saturn Award–winning television series Television shows based on works by Stephen King Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios Television series by Bad Robot Productions American time travel television series Television series set in the 1960s Television series set in 1963 Television shows set in Kentucky Television shows set in Maine Television shows set in Texas Television shows filmed in Ontario Television shows filmed in Texas Television shows about the assassination of John F. Kennedy Cultural depictions of Lee Harvey Oswald Cultural depictions of Jack Ruby American thriller television series 2010s American mystery television series 2010s American science fiction television series Films about the assassination of John F. Kennedy 2010s American time travel television series