Is it too early to say that a show is a success after just three episodes? Well, I’m going to take that chance. I have seen the first three episodes of Hulu’s new show Castle Rock and first I must say that I think it’s genius to release three episodes at the same time. Why? Well, three or four episodes is what it takes for the viewers to get into a show and decide if it’s something they want to continue to follow and by giving the viewers a chance to make that choice the first night they don’t risk that the viewers see one or two episodes, then miss one and pass on the show. As I said, genius.

Now to be honest I didn’t need all three episodes to be convinced that Castle Rock is a show I want to follow. I liked it from the get go. I like the setting, I like the characters and I like the jumping between 1991 and 2018 that they do. I was sold after one episode and after three I just want more!

Hulu has been somewhat secretive with what the show is about and who the different characters are so going into the pilot I didn’t know much about it. We know it takes place in Castle Rock. We know there is a well-known prison, Shawshank Redemption, where there is something special with one of the inmates. We know that a lawyer gets a mystery call from someone saying he needs to come back to Castle Rock. That and the fact that the show is packed with talented actors and actresses like Sissy Spacek (Ruth Deaver), Bill Skarsgård (Shawshank Prisoner), Terry O'Quinn (Dale Lacy), Melanie Lynskey (Molly Strand), Scott Glenn (Alan Pangborn) and André Holland (Henry Deaver) just to name a few.

I won’t spoil the plot for you but I will tell you that the acting, the script and the plot is great. The story about the town and the characters are told from both what happened in 1991 and 2018 and quite a few times I was surprised about what happened. Sam Shaw and Dustin Thomas certainly keeps you on your toes.

How about King connections then? They are there and there are a lot of them... But in a very good way. Some of them are very obvious like Shawshank Prison or Alan Pangborn. Others are more subtle, like when they talk about a dog that we all know. And I’m certain that there are a lot that I missed as well but that’s not a problem. I’m sure someone will produce a list of all the King connections but as a viewer you get some and you miss some but that is just a reason to re-watch the episodes.


So, I ask again; is it too early to say that a show is a success after just three episodes? No, I don’t think so and I’m going to stick my neck out and say that Hulu has a success in Castle Rock!

The episodes are between 47 and 59 minutes each so all in all we’ll be getting about 8.5 hours out of the show. Lucky us!