CBS to bring Stephen King’s ‘Under the Dome’ straight to TV in summer 2013

After seeing so many reality series flounder over the course of this past summer, and after possibly also realizing that cable has really taken over the months from June until mid-September, CBS finally seems intent to do something about it. We already knew about the network’s plan to air “Unforgettable” season 2 during these months, and now the news is also coming out that the network has ordered straight to series a 13-episode adaptation of Stephen King’s “Under the Dome” to air next year.

For those unfamiliar with the book, the story revolves around a town in Maine (go figure) that is suddenly cut off from the world courtesy of an enormous transparent dome, which forces the survivors to live in a sort of post-Apocalyptic world where some terrible things start to happen. To use TV comparisons, think of this as part “Once Upon a Time” (in the sense that no one is able to leave the town) along with some of the terror of a “Walking Dead” or a “Revolution.” (In the case of the latter, its biggest weakness is that there is too much traveling.)

The fact that this show is coming to CBS is promising, mostly in that it is a property that may finally attract some younger viewers to the network. In addition to that, having it air 13 episodes puts it on par with cable shows, and also guarantees that there will be fewer occasions of producers simply stretching the show on for the sake of trying to make it fit into a whopping 22 hours of programming.

Do you think this is a smart pickup by CBS, or are Stephen King adaptations in your mind so a decade ago? If you want to check out some more scoop on the return of “Unforgettable” to the network, you can do so over here.

Photo: CBS