Lisey's Story is an American psychological horror drama miniseries based on the 2006 novel of the same name by Stephen King. The series is written by King, directed by Pablo LarraÃÂn, and produced by J. J. Abrams. Starring Julianne Moore and Clive Owen, Lisey's Story premiered on Apple TV+ on June 4, 2021.
Still grieving the loss of her famous author husband, Scott Landon, who died two years prior, Lisa "Lisey" Landon finds herself besieged by those eager to get their hands on his unpublished manuscripts. While sorting through Scott's possessions, Lisey stumbles upon a cryptic treasure hunt that Scott meticulously crafted for her. This unexpected journey compels her to revisit their shared past, unearthing forgotten, even suppressed, memories of Scott's unusual abilities. As she pursues this scavenger hunt, Lisey unwittingly draws the attention of a dangerous stalker who believes she's selfishly keeping Scott's genius from the world.
In August 2017, Stephen King expressed an interest in seeing his novel adapted as a television series: "Lisey's Story is my favorite of the books and I would love to see that done, especially now that there's a kind of openness on the streaming services on TV and even the cable networks. There's more freedom to do stuff now and when you do a movie from a book, there's this thing that I call the sitting on a suitcase syndrome. That is where you try to pack in all the clothes at once and the suitcase won't close. So it's tough to take a book that is fully textured, and do it in two hours and 10 minutes. But as a TV show you have 10 hours."
In April 2019, it was announced that Apple Inc. had acquired the rights to the novel and gave it an eight-episode straight-to-series order to air on Apple TV+, with all episodes scripted by King, to be produced by J. J. Abrams and Bad Robot Productions. In August 2019, Pablo LarraÃÂn had signed on to direct the miniseries. Working with Production Designer Guy Hendrix Dyas, a unique visual style was created, blending the real world with the fantastical elements in Stephen King's novel. Together they also designed "The Long Boy", a terrifying creature which is a prime example of the miniseries merging of horror and surrealism.
In February 2020, it was announced that Darius Khondji had joined the series as cinematographer.
Julianne Moore was cast in the leading role of Lisey. In October 2019, Clive Owen was added to the cast, with Joan Allen and Dane DeHaan joining in November, and Sung Kang joining in December. In January 2020, Jennifer Jason Leigh was revealed to be in the cast. When Apple announced a first look of Lisey's Story in February 2021, it was also revealed that Ron Cephas Jones was in the cast.
Filming began in October 2019 at the historic Van Liew-Suydam House in Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey. In December 2019, filming took place in the village of Tuckahoe in Westchester County, New York. In mid-March 2020, filming was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. LarraÃÂn said that "a few weeks" of shooting were left before the shutdown occurred. In September 2020, Julianne Moore shared that filming for her character was complete.
The score was composed by British electronic musician Clark. Director Pablo LarraÃÂn heard Clark's Daniel Isn't Real soundtrack (2019) and contacted him directly to score the series. LarraÃÂn wanted emotional themes tied to individual characters rather than functional backdrop music; Clark described needing to "climb inside the interior world of the characters". The score was recorded with a 30-piece string ensemble at AIR Studios and a 30-piece choir at Abbey Road Studios, with violinist Rakhi Singh performing on the main title theme. The Long Boy creature's vocal sound was created by the choir using percussive vocal techniques; LarraÃÂn wanted the voice to be "believably human" rather than theatrical.
The soundtrack album was released on 25 June 2021 on WaterTower Music and Loud Robot.
On January 6, 2021, Apple announced that Lisey's Story would premiere in 2021. The following month, Apple revealed a first look of the series, where it was announced that Lisey's Story would have a mid-2021 premiere. In a first look with Vanity Fair in April 2021, it was announced that Lisey's Story will premiere on Apple TV+ with the first two episodes released on June 4, 2021, and new episodes each Friday thereafter. On May 11, 2021, Apple released a trailer for the miniseries. On June 4, 2021, the series debuted on Apple TV+ with the release of the first two episodes.
On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Lisey's Story holds an approval rating of 53% based on 74 reviews, with an average rating of 6.00/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Despite an admirable performance from Julianne Moore, Lisey's Story is weighed down by an overreliance on its source material and a sluggish pace." On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the miniseries has a score of 49 out of 100 based on 26 reviews, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.