Carrie was a huge hit for Amazon Prime. Roughly five decades after Stephen King penned the novel, his first published work, Mike Flanagan returned to adapt it for the fourth time, modernizing it and stretching the 336-page novel into a television show. Within the first full week of the show, it surged to 3.6 million views.
Unsurprisingly, especially with how the show ended, Amazon has renewed the series for a second season. Flanagan originally said he envisioned a potential three-season arc for his version.
Amazon Officially Renews Carrie for Second Season
According to Variety, the final shot of Carrie White and Emmaline riding in a car as they flee the destruction of Chamberlain was not the end of the story. Carrie has officially been renewed for a second season. For the first time, the story will continue beyond the iconic prom night massacre.
“‘Carrie’ is connecting with both longtime Stephen King fans and a new generation altogether — including young adults and international audiences, with particular strength among female viewers,” said Peter Friedlander, head of global television at Amazon MGM Studios. “It speaks to the enduring power of this story and signals that Mike Flanagan’s reimagining of the iconic IP has real breadth. We’re excited by where he and Stephen plan to take the story.”
Mike Flanagan added, “For 50 years, audiences have known and gravitated to Carrie White’s story. From the beginning, we imagined a story that goes far beyond the prom, and I’m incredibly grateful for Stephen’s trust and support in exploring what comes next.”
Even Stephen King is excited to see what comes of it. “I can’t wait for audiences to get to see what’s down the road for Carrie White. Mike Flanagan and I are excited about what comes next. It’s bound to be thrilling,” the author said.
Risks Involved
There is always a big risk in adapting something and then extending beyond the source material, but plenty of television shows have done it. Dark Matter is currently doing it, though book author Blake Crouch is also screenwriting the subsequent non-book seasons.
The Handmaid’s Tale famously did this. Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead both went past their source materials, with Game of Thrones famously creating an original ending to the series that George R.R. Martin has long been working on. The Institute, another adaptation of Stephen King’s work, is doing the same right now. Season 2 is set to premiere in November, but the first season largely covers the events of the book. Time will tell if that was a good idea.
But if there’s anyone who could take the source material beyond its limits, it is Mike Flanagan. The horror auteur has done some of his best work by taking themes and tiny threads from existing material and turning it into something pretty different and ultimately better (see: The Haunting of Hill House). He knows how to expand on a book.
He’s also the best working adapter of King’s work, and those are King’s words. “I have right of disapproval over everything, and basically I don’t use it, because I trust Mike completely. He is the King whisperer,” King said a day after he tweeted that Flanagan was “the best adapter of my work.”
In many instances, Flanagan appears to know King’s work better than King himself. His take on Carrie improves on so many aspects of the iconic novel. His adaptation of The Life of Chuck is significantly stronger than the short story it’s based on. So, while there’s certainly cause for concern about going beyond a book’s limits, Flanagan has earned trust both in general and with King’s writing.
