Happy new year, fellow Constant Readers! As I noted in the last edition of The King Beat before the calendar flipped a page, 2026 won’t necessarily be as exciting for Stephen King fans as 2025 was, as there won’t be nearly as many new King adaptations or books released… but that doesn’t mean that there won’t be plenty for devotees to discuss. Since the launch of this column in mid-2023, there has never been a week without at least some kind of interesting development related to King happening in the world… and that continues to be true in this first full week of January.
This new King Beat features three headlines for your enjoyment: first, a piece from my interview with IT: Welcome To Derry co-showrunner Jason Fuchs about another adaptation he’d like to tackle; second, a quick update from writer/director Mike Flanagan about the process being made with The Dark Tower, and lastly, some thoughts on the news that Netflix is no longer developing The Talisman series. There’s a lot to discuss, so let’s dig in!
