The show, which was finding its creative stride, was cut short just as its team had planned a direct dive into the Torrance family legacy, a move Stephen King himself thought was premature.
For fans of Stephen King’s interconnected horror universe, the cancellation of Hulu’s Castle Rock in late 2020 remains a particularly haunting “what if.” The anthology series, which weaved characters and lore from across King’s fictional Maine landscape into original stories, ended after two critically acclaimed seasons. Now, new revelations confirm that a planned third season would have brought the series into the cursed halls of the Overlook Hotel by focusing on Jackie Torrance, the niece of The Shining’s infamous Jack Torrance.
The Lost Vision for Season 3: Jackie Torrance Takes Center Stage
The major creative plans for the unmade third season came to light during a 2025 fan convention panel. Actress Jane Levy, who played the small but intriguing role of Diane “Jackie” Torrance in both seasons, revealed that she was cast with the long-term plan in mind.
“I don’t know if I’m allowed to share this,” Levy told the audience at Emerald City Comic Con 2025. “But supposedly, season 3 of Castle Rock was supposed to be about Jackie, and then it got canceled. So I knew [the season 3 plans] signing up for season 1.”
In the series, Jackie is introduced as a local real estate agent with a deep knowledge of the town’s dark history and a defiant connection to her notorious uncle. She legally changed her name from Diane to “Jackie” specifically to honor, or perhaps taunt, the legacy of Jack Torrance. The character’s minimal but potent appearances in the first two seasons were designed as setup for a larger story that would have explored her family’s supernatural burdens and connection to the town of Castle Rock. This would have effectively created a stealth sequel to The Shining, following other expansions of that story like King’s novel Doctor Sleep.
Stephen King’s Disappointment and the Show’s Unrealized Potential
The cancellation was a disappointment not only to fans but to the author whose work inspired it. In an interview, King expressed his belief that the series was hitting its stride creatively and ended too soon.
“The people involved were big fans of those books, and I liked what they did quite a lot…In the second season, they really got their feet under them. I would have liked to have seen it go on and grow a little bit,” King said.
This sentiment echoes the view of many critics and viewers who felt the second season, which featured Lizzy Caplan as a young Annie Wilkes from Misery, demonstrated a stronger, more confident blend of King’s source material with original storytelling. The series was conceived by J.J. Abrams and creators Sam Shaw and Dustin Thomason as a new addition to the Stephen King “mythos,” an ambitious project that was just beginning to reveal its potential when it was canceled.
Why ‘Castle Rock’ Was Canceled After Two Seasons
The official end came in November 2020, when Hulu confirmed the series would not continue. The decision was based on a combination of creative and business factors:
- A Planned Conclusion: Contrary to fan speculation about cliffhangers, reports indicate the show was always conceived to run for a limited number of seasons, with the second season wrapping up its core Annie Wilkes narrative.
- Corporate Shifts: A significant factor was a strategic pivot by producer Warner Bros. Television. As the studio focused its energy and resources on launching and supplying content for the new HBO Max streaming platform, projects on other networks and services were re-evaluated.
- The Pandemic Effect: The COVID-19 pandemic, which began in early 2020, led to widespread reevaluations of content slates across the industry, and Castle Rock was among several Hulu originals canceled during this period.
Despite its cancellation, the show maintained a strong critical reputation, with its first season holding an 87% rating and its second an 89% on Rotten Tomatoes.
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Where to Watch ‘Castle Rock’ Now
For those looking to revisit the town’s mysteries or discover them for the first time, the series has recently become more accessible. After streaming exclusively on Hulu since its debut, both seasons of Castle Rock arrived on Netflix in the United States on December 16, 2025. This move has introduced the show to a new wave of subscribers and reignited discussions about its untimely end and the compelling stories left untold in the Stephen King universe.
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