The first season of Castle Rock introduced viewers to a new kind of Stephen King story. Rather than adapting a single novel, the 2018 Hulu series wove characters and lore from King’s wider fictional universe into an original mystery centered on the troubled town of Castle Rock, Maine. The series, which launched on July 25, 2018, ran for two seasons and concluded in 2019. Its success hinged on a compelling ensemble cast who brought this dark, interconnected world to life.
The Central Mystery: Henry Deaver and The Kid
At the heart of the first season’s story are two men connected by a strange and disturbing past.
André Holland plays Henry Matthew Deaver, a death row attorney who is reluctantly pulled back to his hometown. Henry left Castle Rock years earlier under a cloud of suspicion; as a child, he was the prime suspect in the death of his adoptive father, Reverend Matthew Deaver. His return is triggered by a mysterious phone call from Shawshank State Penitentiary. An inmate discovered in a secret underground cell has asked for Henry by name, and no one knows why.
That inmate is played by Bill Skarsgård, credited only as “The Kid”. Found locked in a cage beneath the prison by the late Warden Dale Lacy, this character is a complete enigma. He rarely speaks and his true identity is the central mystery of the season. Skarsgård’s performance is notable for its unsettling stillness, creating a profound sense of dread without the need for dialogue. His casting was a deliberate nod for horror fans, as Skarsgård is also known for playing Pennywise the Clown in the film adaptations of King’s It.
The Town’s Residents: Molly, Ruth, and Alan
Surrounding Henry and The Kid are the lifelong residents of Castle Rock, each guarding their own secrets and pains.
Melanie Lynskey portrays Molly Strand, a local real estate agent and Henry’s childhood neighbor. Molly suffers from a debilitating condition that gives her powerful empathic and telepathic abilities, which she manages with illicit drugs. Her connection to Henry is deep and strange, haunted by shared experiences from their past.
Skarsgård doesn’t need dialogue. The Kid disturbs through stillness.
Henry’s adoptive mother is Ruth Deaver, played by Oscar-winner Sissy Spacek. Ruth is a lifelong Castle Rock resident struggling with severe dementia, which causes her to slip between different time periods, often unable to distinguish the past from the present. Her late husband was Reverend Matthew Deaver, and she now lives with the town’s former sheriff. For flashback scenes, the show cast Spacek’s real-life daughter, Schuyler Fisk, to play a young Ruth.
That former sheriff is Alan Pangborn, played by Scott Glenn. Pangborn is a classic Stephen King character who has appeared in novels like Needful Things and The Dark Half. In this series, he is retired and lives with Ruth Deaver, acting as her caretaker and carrying the weight of the town’s dark history.
Notable Personalities with King Connections
The series is filled with “Easter eggs” for dedicated Stephen King fans, and some characters are direct links to his famous works.
Jane Levy plays the energetic Diane “Jackie” Torrance, a taxi driver and local history buff with a particular interest in the town’s gruesome stories. Her character’s last name is a major clue: she is the niece of Jack Torrance, the protagonist of King’s The Shining. Jackie even took her infamous uncle’s name to annoy her parents.
At Shawshank State Penitentiary, two key figures set the plot in motion. Terry O’Quinn plays Dale Lacy, the warden whose shocking suicide in the premiere episode reveals that he was hiding a terrible secret within the prison walls. His successor is Warden Theresa Porter, portrayed by Ann Cusack, who is left to deal with the mysterious prisoner Lacy left behind.
The prison guard who discovers The Kid is Dennis Zalewski, played by Noel Fisher. His decision to anonymously call Henry Deaver sets off a chain of events that leads to his own mental and physical unraveling, representing one of the season’s more tragic arcs.
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The Supporting Cast of Castle Rock
The large ensemble cast helps build the show’s dense atmosphere. Key supporting actors include:
- Adam Rothenberg as Reverend Matthew Deaver, Henry’s late adoptive father.
- Caleel Harris as the young Henry Deaver in flashbacks to 1991.
- Frances Conroy as Martha Lacy, the widow of Warden Dale Lacy.
- Chosen Jacobs as Wendell Deaver, Henry’s son.
The series was created by Sam Shaw and Dustin Thomason, with powerhouse producers J.J. Abrams and Stephen King himself serving as executive producers. All ten episodes of the first season are available to stream on Hulu.
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