Classic Superman fans may recall the bottled city of Kandor, miniaturized and trapped inside a glass bottle. Think of a Maine town given that sort of treatment, with the magic pen of Stephen King, and you've got CBS' "Under the Dome."
"Under the Dome" is a Stephen King 13-part serialized drama, and on Saturday CBS gave it a premiere date. The series -- and if all goes well, it will be a continuing series -- will debut on Monday, June 24.
According to CBS entertainment chief Nina Tassler, speaking on Saturday, the series will get some high-profile advertising: CBS will air ads during Super Bowl XLVII. The show was one of several to have its summer premiere date announced on Saturday.
The series is based on Stephen King's novel of the same name and produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment.
Amazon.com's description of the novel is as follows:
Just down Route 119 in Chester’s Mill, Maine, all hell is about to break loose ...
On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day, a small town is suddenly and inexplicably sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into it and rain down flaming wreckage. A gardener’s hand is severed as the dome descends. Cars explode on impact. Families are separated and panic mounts.
No one can fathom what the barrier is, where it came from, and when—or if—it will go away. Now a few intrepid citizens, led by an Iraq vet turned short-order cook, face down a ruthless politician dead set on seizing the reins of power under the dome. But their main adversary is the dome itself. Because time isn’t just running short. It’s running out.
CBS a 13-episode, straight-to-series order for the project in November. The series has been adapted by "Lost" writer Brian K. Vaughn.
As part of the Saturday announcement about the series premiere, Stephen King himself -- via a preview reel -- described scenes in the series. As food and more grow scarce, the story explores how people deal with a dearth of resources.
Some might recognize a similarity to the classic "Twilight Zone" episode "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street," and that's not lost on reviewers Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, who actually refer to the episode during their Amazon.com review.
In the preview reel King said:
It’s really exciting to take the book and possibly expand it. That’s what TV is for ... TV is an expansive medium.
King added that he was particularly pleased to finally work with Steven Spielberg via his Amblin Entertainment studio. I’ve always wanted to work with Steven. Our view of American life is similar ... we both see the extraordinary in ordinary things and people.
Looking for a trailer? Don't. The first trailer for Dome’s 13-episode debut season will air during CBS’ coverage of the Super Bowl next month. Tassler said that the first season will conclude with a major piece of plot information being revealed.
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