CBS has given a straight-to-series order for 13 episodes of “Under the Dome,” a serialized drama from Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television based on Stephen King’s best-selling novel of the same name. The series will be broadcast in summer 2013.
“Under the Dome” is the story of a small New England town that is suddenly and inexplicably sealed off from the rest of the world by an enormous transparent dome. The town’s inhabitants must deal with surviving the post-apocalyptic conditions while searching for answers to what this barrier is, where it came from and if and when it will go away.
CBS and Simon & Schuster will cross-promote the television series and book in advance of the show’s summer launch with the April 2013 re-release of trade paperback and electronic editions from its Pocket Books imprint. “Under the Dome” was initially published by Simon & Schuster’s Scribner imprint in November 2009, earning widespread critical acclaim and #1 best-seller status.
“This is a great novel coming to the television screen with outstanding auspices and in-season production values to create a summer programming event,” said Nina Tassler, President of CBS Entertainment. “We’re excited to transport audiences ‘Under the Dome’ and into the extraordinary world that Stephen King has imagined.”
In addition to the featured broadcast on CBS, “Under the Dome” will have a unique programming model tailored for a summer launch with a multi-platform window available for each episode shortly after the network airing. The series will be distributed domestically by CBS Television Distribution and worldwide by CBS Studios International.
CBS Television Studios will produce the series in association Amblin Television. Neal Baer, Stephen King, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, Stacey Snider and Brian K. Vaughan, who wrote the television adaptation, will serve as executive producers. Acclaimed director Niels Arden Oplev will direct the first episode.
