Stephen King‘s Castle Rock sounds like a fun town to visit, but you probably wouldn’t want to live in a place where literal and figurative monsters abound.
Between 2018 and 2019, Hulu produced Castle Rock, an original series that gave King’s books the shared universe treatment they’ve rarely received in live-action.
Later this month, Castle Rock is moving to Netflix for a chance to scare up new viewers six years after the show’s conclusion.
Now, Watch With Us is sharing the reasons why Castle Rock is the one Netflix show in December 2025 that you have to watch.
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‘Castle Rock’ Brings Stephen King’s Worlds Together
Hardcore Stephen King fans may get more out of Castle Rock than anyone else, since some references seem destined to fly over the heads of casual viewers. But even if you’re coming to this show with only a limited knowledge of King’s movie adaptations, then you should still be able to follow the connections without getting lost. Each of the two Castle Rock seasons features a new original story, as well as characters and locations that call back to King’s earlier works.
The Shawshank State Penitentiary from The Shawshank Redemption is a vital location in season 1, as attorney Henry Matthew Deaver (André Holland) is called upon to represent The Kid (Bill Skarsgård), a prisoner who has been secretly held there for decades. As in many King stories, The Kid is more than he seems. Some of the other connections that come out during the show include characters or relatives from Misery and The Shining, all of which make this town seem a lot bigger and more important to the world created by King.
The Cast Members Are Terrific
Skarsgård had already portrayed Pennywise the Clown in the film adaptations of It before landing the key role as The Kid in this series. He’s a really talented performer, and the character he’s playing on this show is nothing like Pennywise. Some of the other standouts among the cast include Sissy Spacek as Henry’s adoptive mother, Ruth Deaver, as well as Jane Levy as Jackie Torrance, the niece of Jack Nicholson’s character from The Shining.
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Lizzy Caplan is introduced in season 2 as a much younger version of Annie Wilkes, Kathy Bates‘ character from Misery. Caplan’s take on the character isn’t as sinister as Bates’, but Annie is already disturbed. Regardless, the story gives Caplan a chance to show some humanity within Annie, at least enough to make her final scene in the series sting.
‘Castle Rock’ Combines Horror and Drama That Few Shows Pull Off
The clips on YouTube don’t really sell the horror aspect of Castle Rock as well as the drama. Trust us when we say that you’ll find both genres well-represented in this series. This isn’t a show that plays its scares for laughs, although you may find some darkly amusing moments scattered throughout.
Each season of Castle Rock largely stands alone as a self-contained story, with only a few cast members from season 1 appearing in the second season. This means that you will get closure on both stories, rather than being left on a cliffhanger for a third season that will never come. Castle Rock isn’t exactly Christmas fare, but if you’re looking for a new show to stream on Netflix, this is the one for you.
Castle Rock will stream on Netflix on December 16.
