Stephen King's Latest TV Recommendation Is Outside His Usual Horror Hype

stephen king on drew barrymore talk show

For many horror fans out there, prolific storytelling Stephen King is a one-stop shop for all of one's genre-specific needs, from his seemingly endless supply of original content (novels, short stories, Lisey's Story, etc.) to the many recommendations he's shared over the years, whether it be through social media platforms or magazine articles. But no one should have to survive solely on horror programming, as glorious as that does sound, and King took a step outside his central genre with his latest option for suggested TV viewing.

While I can only assume Stephen King will be an early-bird viewer for Netflix's Brand New Cherry Flavor and USA/Syfy's Chucky whenever those fright-filled shows debut later this year, the King of Horror appears to be quite content with watching the heightened legal drama The Good Fight, which is in the middle of its fifth season on the streaming service Paramount+. Check out the glowing praise King had for it as he quote-tweeted crime novelist Linwood Barclay:

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It does make quite a bit of tangential sense that The Good Fight taps into Stephen King's interests, and not just because he shares a surname with the drama's co-creators Robert and Michelle King. Having also created the aforementioned spinoff's flagship series The Good Wife, which starred Julianna Margulies, the Kings were also responsible for CBS' offbeat sci-fi drama Brain Dead, Paramount+'s current horror drama Evil and the Spectrum Originals horror thriller The Bite. So they're definitely more wrapped up in genre love than a traditional TV drama creator like, say, the Law & Order and One Chicago franchise developer Dick Wolf.

As it usually goes when Stephen King puts a TV or film recommendation out there, fans were quick to comment on the post with appreciation and promises to check The Good Fight out. Quite a few commenters were completely unfamiliar with the show, which can often be the case when King is making non-horror suggestions. So if there's any kind of a sizeable uptick in viewers starting The Good Fight from the very beginning, perhaps King will get a nice "Thank You" card in the mail...signed in blood! Or just a regular pen.

To be fair, though, not everyone was in full agreement with Stephen King's assessment. One commenter, while not refuting his claims about The Good Fight's quality in and of itself, did take issue with King's claim that the drama was the first TV series to handle COVID storylines with aplomb, and pointed to Grey's Anatomy as the better example. Still, even if it wasn't necessarily first, the streaming drama still gets high marks for how it handled things.

Those waiting for more Stephen King adaptations don't have long to wait, and we probably won't be without such adaptations for the rest of our lives, considering how many are in development. The next one set for release is EPIX's Chapelwaite, an adaptation of King's short story "Jerusalem's Lot," with Adrien Brody in the worm-handling starring role.

The Good Fight Season 5 is currently streaming on Paramount+, with new episodes going live every Thursday. Be sure to stay current with the rest of the 2021 Summer TV schedule to see what other TV shows, horror and otherwise, are debuting soon.

Nick Venable
Assistant Managing Editor

Nick is a Cajun Country native and an Assistant Managing Editor with a focus on TV and features. His humble origin story with CinemaBlend began all the way back in the pre-streaming era, circa 2009, as a freelancing DVD reviewer and TV recapper.  Nick leapfrogged over to the small screen to cover more and more television news and interviews, eventually taking over the section for the current era and covering topics like Yellowstone, The Walking Dead and horror. Born in Louisiana and currently living in Texas — Who Dat Nation over America’s Team all day, all night — Nick spent several years in the hospitality industry, and also worked as a 911 operator. If you ever happened to hear his music or read his comics/short stories, you have his sympathy.