Spike greenlights The Mist TV series

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Back in February, we learned that Spike TV had ordered a pilot for The Mist, based on the Stephen King novella of the same name. The property was already adapted into a Frank Darabont film back in 2007, but in the current trend of TV series redefining the stories of popular properties (Damien, Bates Motel), it wasn't an entirely surprising move.

However, Spike was so wowed by the series pitch that they're moving forward on The Mist before producing the pilot. They've ordered ten hourlong episodes which will go into production this summer, with a slated 2017 premiere. 

Now that this is definitively happening, it's time to think about how The Mist could actually function in a serialized format. Of necessity, there's really only one set in the story: a grocery store. That's like an entire series of bottle episodes, which is a real challenge. I hope the directors they hire take that challenge and push the series to its fullest potential, rather than saddling it with endless flashbacks to escape the constraints of the grocery store. But for now, we'll just have to wait and see.

Here's the story…

It's a hot, lazy day, perfect for a cookout, until you see those strange dark clouds. Suddenly a violent storm sweeps across the lake and ends as abruptly and unexpectedly as it had begun. Then comes the mist…creeping slowly, inexorably into town, where it settles and waits, trapping you in the supermarket with dozens of others, cut off from your families and the world. The mist is alive, seething with unearthly sounds and movements. What unleashed this terror? Was it the Arrowhead Project—the top secret government operation that everyone has noticed but no one quite understands? And what happens when the provisions have run out and you're forced to make your escape, edging blindly through the dim light?

THE MIST will be overseen by Christian Torpe, a Danish writer who created the popular series Rita in Denmark.