Development On February 17, 2017, it was announced that Hulu,
J. J. Abrams, and
Stephen King were collaborating on a new series entitled
Castle Rock, based on King's large canon of work. It was further reported that the series would be written by Sam Shaw and
Dustin Thomason, produced by Abrams'
Bad Robot, and distributed by
Warner Bros. Television. Four days later, Hulu revealed that they had given the production a series order consisting of a first season of ten episodes, and executive producers would include Abrams, King, Shaw, Thomason, Ben Stephenson, and Liz Glotzer. On August 14, 2018, it was announced that Hulu had renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on October 23, 2019. On November 3, 2020, Hulu canceled the series after two seasons.
Casting On May 11, 2017, it was announced that
André Holland had been cast in the series' lead role. In June 2017,
Jane Levy,
Sissy Spacek, and
Melanie Lynskey had joined the main cast. On July 10, 2017,
Bill Skarsgård was set to join the roster. In August 2017, it was reported that
Scott Glenn and
Terry O'Quinn had been added as series regulars, and on March 1, 2018, it was announced that
Chosen Jacobs had joined in the recurring role of Wendell Deaver, the son of Holland's character. On June 8, 2018, it was announced during the annual
ATX Television Festival that
Allison Tolman will have the recurring role of Lynsky's character's sister, and five days later, it was reported that
Noel Fisher was also on board. In March 2019, it was announced that the season 2 cast would feature
Lizzy Caplan,
Tim Robbins,
Garrett Hedlund,
Elsie Fisher,
Yusra Warsama,
Barkhad Abdi and
Matthew Alan in lead roles. Hedlund's role was later recast with
Paul Sparks. On April 17, 2019, it was reported that John Hoogenakker had been cast in an undisclosed recurring role for season 2.
Filming Principal photography for the first season was expected to take place in Massachusetts, in locations such as
Orange, Massachusetts, and at New England Studios in
Devens, Massachusetts. In August 2017, production began in Devens and in Orange, where the downtown area had been refitted to appear as the town of Castle Rock, and where production was expected to continue through January 2018. That month, crews also shot scenes at Vernon Hill School in
Worcester, Massachusetts, and at an old Victorian house in
Lancaster, Massachusetts. Filming returned to Orange during the week of August 21 for production of the series' second episode. In late September 2017, filming took place in
Tewksbury, Massachusetts, at The Public Health Museum on the campus of the Tewksbury State Hospital. In October 2017, filming took place at the Central Cemetery in Orange where a funeral scene was shot. The downtown area was refitted with a more modern look in November for another phase of production. From September 4, 2017, until the end of the month, production took place at the former
West Virginia Penitentiary in
Moundsville, West Virginia, which appeared as the fictional Shawshank State Prison. On November 21, 2017, filming took place in Worcester in the lobby of the Mercantile Building, which had been refitted into a boardroom. By January, all filming in Orange was completed, and the production proceeded to donate $3,500 to the town. The Fire Department received $2,500 for helping facilitate production, and the Trustees of Soldiers' Memorial was to receive another $1,000. Visual effects were used to alter seasons, including adding snow to scenes in which there was no snow on location, as well as to create a forest fire in episode five. In 2019, it was reported that filming for second season would take place at additional Massachusetts locations, including a former meat factory building in
Clinton, and several properties in
Gardner. Parts of season 2 episode 5 were filmed at a house on Prospect Street in Leominster, MA.
Music The song "
Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa" is used three times during the first season, including the first song heard in the premiere (
Gene Pitney's 1963 version) and the last song heard over the closing credits of the finale (
Dusty Springfield's 1964 version). It captures the underlying situation of The Kid in the lyrics: "Dearest darling, I had to write to say that I won't be home anymore / 'Cause something happened to me while I was driving home / And I'm not the same anymore". ==Release==