Stephen King has been responsible for many popular TV shows and movies, with new adaptations of his work being made ever year. In the last year alone there have been several movie releases and a new TV series based on his debut novel Carrie is now only days away from premiering on Prime Video. That volume of work means that several projects never quite get the dues they deserve, and one such show arrived in 2010 as a quiet and unassuming Syfy release that took loose inspiration from the little known novella, The Colorado Kid. Despite its cancellation over a decade ago, that series is now storming its way up to the top of the Apple Store charts and has recently been a free streaming hit on Tubi. For those looking for a genre-mashing sci-fi, supernatural, crime drama that has all the small town vibes of King’s best work, then you will probably find what you are looking for in Haven.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Haven originally debuted on July 9, 2010 but despite its King connection, the show never hugely played that card in its marketing. The series centers on FBI Agent Audrey Parker, who is dispatched to the small Maine town of Haven to attempt to track down and arrest an escaped convict. Things soon take a strange turn when she discovers that Haven is not an ordinary town and lives up to its name as a place that has become a refuge for those with supernatural abilities called “The Troubles.” The series acts as both a long-form story and a “monster of the week” show, with Parker staying in the town to join forces with smuggler Duke Crocker (Eric Balfour) and local cop Nathan Wuornos (Lucas Bryant) to investigate the evolving powers of each resident of the town and an ongoing mystery that links back to Parker herself.
Haven Is Classic Stephen King
Haven is a series that does not come with all the horrors of It: Welcome to Derry and being based on a King novella that was released very quietly during his crime era in 2005 (many people did not even know the book existed for years thanks to its initial paperback only release from the Hard Case Crime imprint of Dorchester Publishing) it sat outside King’s usual horror tales. Yet, for all the subtleness of the text, the TV series managed to pack in plenty of classic King traits, from the small isolated Maine town hiding a secret, to the supernatural elements that went far beyond the initial premise of the source material. This is why the series struck a chord with audiences but not with critics. The first season – and those that followed – maintained an 80-90% range in Rotten Tomatoes audience scores, but the critics consensus landed its first season just 35% and it was only the final season that managed to break out of “rotten” territory.
Yet, despite being forgotten by many, Haven has maintained a cult following and having come back into the streaming charts proves that there is always room for a little bit of small town supernatural mystery in the lives of viewers. Recent hit series such asWidow’s Bay, which debuted a highly praised first season, may have led people to Haven through recommendations while they await a second season of the award-winning horror comedy series. With modern TV, any show that ended a decade ago usually comes as a fresh and new surprise to viewers who discover it on one streaming platform or another. There are so many new shows out there on a constant rotation that it is easy to miss or forget them, and Haven is a forgotten gem of a show that, across its five seasons, comes with a complete story waiting to be binged, which seems to be exactly what viewers are doing right now to make it a streaming success all these years later.
These Are the 10 Best Stephen King Movies of All Time
More TV Shows
-
Embark Studios Movies
10 hours agoTwo Critically Acclaimed Video Games With a Combined 45 Million Players Just Got Picked Up for Movie & TV Adaptations
-
DC Studios TV Shows
12 hours agoLanterns Quietly Confirmed the True Thematic Story of the DCU That Was Right In Front of Us
-
Sam and Dean Winchester in Supernatural looking out a window. TV Shows
16 hours agoJensen Ackles Pitched an Endgame Encore for Supernatural, & It Could Actually Bring Sam and Dean Back
-
TV Shows
17 hours agoLanterns Just Got the Update Fans Were Hoping for After the Season 1 Finale
-
TV Shows
20 hours ago40 Years Ago on TV, Ghostbusters Expanded in a Way That the Movies Couldn’t for Decades
