Season 1 of Hulu’sCastle Rockwas a treasure trove of homages, Easter eggs, and story crossovers for fans of horror iconStephen King. Season 2 looks to continue that trend by taking onMisery, King’s 1987 psychological horror novel that centered on nurse Annie Wilkes and her deadly obsession with romance novelist, Paul Sheldon.Kathy Batesearned an Oscar for her performance as Wilkes inRob Reiner’s 1990 feature adaptation of the story, but now Emmy-nomineeLizzy Caplangets a shot at the role.
Joining Caplan to lead the Season 2 cast ofCastle RockareTim Robbins(The Shawshank Redemption),Garrett Hedlund(Triple Frontier)andElsie Fisher(The Axe Murders of Villisca). Additionally,Yusra Warsama(The Last Days on Mars),Barkhad Abdi(Captain Phillips)andMatthew Alan(13 Reasons Why) join as series regulars. They’ll all be caught up in a feud between warring clans in the title town, a conflict further complicated by Wilkes' arrival in Castle Rock.
Caplan’s Wilkes, still employed as a nurse in this telling, is described as a superfan who is battling to overcome mental health issues. Fisher stars as Wilkes' home-school daughter Joy who is becoming increasingly disturbed by her mother’s behavior.
Robbins returns to the King universe as the patriarch of the author’s infamous crime family, Reginald “Pop” Merrill; his battle with cancer is nearing its end, bringing about a reckoning with his family. Other Merrill Family members include Hedlund’s John “Ace” Merrill, maybe the most notorious of the bunch, who aims to take over Pop’s operation and start a turf war with neighboring Jerusalem’s Lot, and Alan’s Chris Merrill, Ace’s brother who tries to keep the peace between the family and the Somali community embroiled in the feud. (It all felt veryGodfatherright up until that Somali twist.)
Warsam will play the Harvard-trained Somali hospital director Dr. Nadia Omar with Abdi playing Abdi Omar, her tough older brother who is building a Somali community center. It remains to be seen just how they fall into the feud with the Merrills but you can rest assured that everyone will be tested by the various evils that lurk within the title town and its many denizens.
Look for Season 2 ofSam Shaw&Dustin Thomason’s creation, hailing fromJ.J. Abrams' Bad Robot Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, on Hulu later this year. In the meantime, get caught up on the first season by checking out these relevant write-ups:
