''11.22.63'' is an American

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

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

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

, and consisting of eight episodes, in which a

time travel Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a ...

er attempts to stop the

assassination of John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. CST in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was in the vehicle with ...

. 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. For his role in '' 127 Hours'' (2010), he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. Franco is known for his roles in films, such as Sam Raimi's ''Spider-M ...

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

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television series ...

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

Premise

Jake Epping (

), a recently divorced English teacher from

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

, is presented with the chance to travel back in time to 1960 by his long-time friend Al Templeton (

Chris Cooper Christopher Walton Cooper (born July 9, 1951) is an American actor. He has appeared in several major Hollywood films, including '' American Beauty'' (1999), '' October Sky'' (1999), '' The Bourne Identity'' (2002), '' Seabiscuit'' (2003), '' C ...

). 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 / George Amberson *

as Al Templeton *

Sarah Gadon Sarah Lynn Gadon (born April 4, 1987) is a Canadian actress. She began her acting career guest-starring in a number of television series, such as '' Are You Afraid of the Dark?'' (1999), '' Mutant X'' (2002), and ''Dark Oracle'' (2004). She also ...

as Sadie Dunhill *

Lucy Fry Lucy Elizabeth Fry (born 13 March 1992) is an Australian actress. She is known for portraying Zoey in '' Lightning Point'', Lyla in '' Mako: Island of Secrets'', and Lissa Dragomir in the film '' Vampire Academy''. Fry was also cast in Hulu's e ...

Marina Oswald Marina Nikolayevna Oswald Porter ( Prusakova; russian: Марина Николаевна Прусакова; born July 17, 1941) is the Russian-American widow of Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of US President John F. Kennedy. Early life Port ...

* 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 the age of 12 fo ...

Recurring and guest

Cherry Jones Cherry Jones (born November 21, 1956) is an American actress known for her roles on screen and stage. She has received various accolades for her performances in television and theatre including three Primetime Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, th ...

as Marguerite Oswald * Kevin J. O'Connor as the Yellow Card Man *

T. R. Knight Theodore Raymond Knight (born March 26, 1973) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Dr. George O'Malley on the ABC medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2005–2009, 2020), which earned him a nomination for the Pr ...

as Johnny Clayton *

Josh Duhamel Joshua David Duhamel (; born November 14, 1972) is an American actor and former fashion model. After various modeling work, he made his acting debut as Leo du Pres on the ABC daytime soap opera '' All My Children'' and later starred as Danny M ...

as Frank Dunning * Joanna Douglas as Doris Dunning *

Nick Searcy Nicholas Alan Searcy (born March 7, 1959) is an American character actor best known for portraying Chief Deputy United States Marshal Art Mullen on FX's '' Justified''. He also had a major role in the Tom Hanks–produced miniseries ''From the ...

as Deke Simmons * Jonny Coyne as

George de Mohrenschildt George Sergius de Mohrenschildt ( ru , Георгий Сергеевич де Мореншильд; April 17, 1911 – March 29, 1977) was an American petroleum geologist, professor, and known CIA informant. De Mohrenschildt is best known for havi ...

Tonya Pinkins Tonya Pinkins (born May 30, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. Her award-winning debut feature film ''RED PILL'' was an official selection at the 2021 Pan African Film Festival, won the Best Black Lives Matter Feature and Best First Fea ...

as Mimi Corcoran * Brooklyn Sudano as Christy Epping * Leon Rippy as Harry Dunning * Juliette Angelo as Bobbi Jill Allnut * Braeden Lemasters as Mike Coslaw * Anthony Colonello as Clifford * Gregory North as General Edwin Walker *

Gil Bellows Gil Bellows (born June 28, 1967) is a Canadian actor, screenwriter, and director. He is best known for the roles of Tommy Williams in the 1994 movie '' The Shawshank Redemption'', Billy Thomas in the Fox television series '' Ally McBeal'' (1997� ...

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. She is known for portraying Lisa Bridges in the television series ''Nash Bridges'', Beverly Marsh in the 1990 television mini-series adaptation of Stephen King's epic hor ...

as Edna Price *

Antoni Corone Antoni Corone is an American actor and producer. He is perhaps best known for playing " Frank Urbano" in the American drama television series '' Oz'', Only Fools and Horses as Rico Ochetti and also being known for playing the role of "Captain W ...

Jack Ruby Jack Leon Ruby (born Jacob Leon Rubenstein; April 25, 1911January 3, 1967) was an American nightclub owner and alleged associate of the Chicago Outfit who murdered Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963, two days after Oswald was accused of ...

* Bob Stephenson as Silent Mike * Wilbur Fitzgerald as Captain Will Fritz *

Constance Towers Constance Mary Towers (born May 20, 1933) is an American film, stage, and television actress, and singer. She gained prominence for her appearances in several mainstream 1950s films before transitioning to theater, starring in numerous Broadway ...

as Old Sadie * Kelly McCormack 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. Beginning his career under B-movie producer Roger Corman, Demme made his directorial debut with the 1974 women-in-prison film '' Caged Heat'', befo ...

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 Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...

and J. J. Abrams'

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

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

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

. 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.

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", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...

, Ontario, as well as in

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...

, Ontario, at the Queen's Tavern,

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of ...

, and in Knowles Restaurant in Dunnville, Ontario during September 2015. In early October, the production moved to

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

to film exterior locations at

Dealey Plaza Dealey Plaza is a city park in the West End Historic District of downtown Dallas, Texas. It is sometimes called the "birthplace of Dallas". It was also the location of the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963; 30 minutes after the shootin ...

. During this time, the filming of various scenes during

rush hour A rush hour (American English, British English) or peak hour (Australian 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 every weekday: o ...

caused bumper to bumper traffic in the surrounding streets.

Reception

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

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American 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, and Stephen Wan ...

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 a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the show has a rating of 69 out of 100, based on 35 reviews, signifying "generally positive 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 Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...

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'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'' 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 digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...

'' 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'' describes

'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 The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

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 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