The Mist is an American science fiction-horror thriller television series developed by Christian Torpe based on the 1980 novella by Stephen King. Produced by Dimension Television, the series stars Morgan Spector, Alyssa Sutherland, Gus Birney, Danica Curcic, Okezie Morro, Luke Cosgrove, Darren Pettie, Russell Posner and Frances Conroy, and centers around an eerie mist rolls into a small town, where the residents must battle the mysterious mist and its threats, fighting to maintain their morality and sanity.
The Mist aired for one 10-episode season on Spike from June 22 to August 24, 2017. The series received generally mixed reviews from critics, and Spike later cancelled the series on September 27 the same year.
Contents
Premise
An unexplained mist slowly envelops the town of Bridgeville, Maine, creating an almost impenetrable barrier to visibility. The residents of the town soon learn the situation is even more precarious as unexplained anomalies and phenomena in the mist attack and kill most who enter it, trapping several groups of people in a shopping mall, a church, and a hospital. Eventually, people begin to see apparitions in the mist from their past, fears, or guilt that help or kill them depending on how they react.
Cast and characters
Main
Morgan Spector as Kevin Copeland
Alyssa Sutherland as Eve Copeland
Gus Birney as Alex Copeland
Danica Curcic as Mia Lambert
Okezie Morro as Bryan Hunt
Luke Cosgrove as Jay Heisel
Darren Pettie as Connor Heisel
Russell Posner as Adrian Garff
Frances Conroy as Nathalie Raven
Recurring
Dan Butler as Gregory Romanov
Steven Yaffee as Mikhail Demidoff
Christopher Gray as Tyler
Dylan Authors as Link
Darcy Lindzon as Trevor
Laurie Hanley as Ursula
Isiah Whitlock Jr. as Gus Bradley
Romaine Waite as Kyle
Irene Bedard as Kimi Lucero
Nabeel El Khafif as Raj El-Fayed
Greg Hovanessian as Wes Foster
Mishka Thebaud as Clint Spelling
Shomari Downer as Elliot Carrillo
Zenna Davis-Jones as Giselle Rodriguez
Erik Knudsen as Vic
Jonathan Malen as Ted
Holly Deveaux as Zoe
Andrea Lee Norwood as Susan Parker
Alexandra Ordolis as Shelley DeWitt
Lola Flanery as Lila DeWitt
Guest
Mary Bacon as Mrs. Carmody
John Dooks as Eric Carmody
Christopher Gray as Tyler Denton
Philip Ettinger as Nash
Dwain Murphy as Bryan Hunt
Neal Huff as Dr. Bailey
Peter Murnik as Mike Copeland
Marylouise Burke as Anna Lambert
Shane Daly as Duncan Garff
Nikki Barnett as Sandy Garff
Kevin O'Grady as Officer Pundik
Derek McGrath as Benedict Raven
Teagle F. Bougery as Clay Greyson
Production
Development
Following the release of Frank Darabont's film adaptation of The Mist in 2007, executive producers Bob Weinstein and Harvey Weinstein announced plans to develop a miniseries based on the film. In November 2013, Bob Weinstein announced that a 10-part miniseries would begin production under their Dimension Television banner. It was unclear if film director Darabont would be involved in the series and the development remained stagnant for a period of time.
In September 2015, nearly two years after the project was announced, Dimension Television announced they had signed screenwriter Christian Torpe to pen the entire series. In February 2016, Spike picked up the pilot. In April 2016, it was announced a deal had been reached with Spike to air the entire series. In July 2016, the production company announced the series had been cast and gone into production in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Financing
The ten episodes of the first season were reportedly produced on a budget of approximately CA$23 million. The government of Nova Scotia announced in July 2016 that it would contribute CA$5.9 million for the series. The production marks the biggest entertainment production ever to shoot in the province.
Casting
In July 2016, Dimension Television announced Morgan Spector would play the lead character of Kevin Copeland. Other cast members announced included Frances Conroy, Alyssa Sutherland, Zenna Davis-Jones, Gus Birney, Dan Butler, Luke Cosgrove, Danica Curcic, Okezie Morro, Darren Pettie, Russell Posner and Isiah Whitlock, Jr.
Ratings
After the pilot episode received strong ratings, viewer numbers rapidly declined. The series averaged a rating of 0.14 in adults aged 18–49, and 462,000 viewers per episode in Nielsen's Live+Same Day ratings. The series was canceled in September 2017.
Reception
Critical reception
The series received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its atmosphere and special effects, but criticized its story, performances, underdeveloped characters and unfaithfulness to the source material. On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 59% based on 46 reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Mist's absorbing atmosphere and solid special effects struggle to overcome a generally uninspired story and performances." On Metacritic, the series has a weighted average score of 54 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Chris Scott of The New York Observer described it as "relentlessly bleak, mean, and downright sadistic at nearly every turn", linking this with the falling ratings over the series' course. Indiewire reviewer Ben Travers described the plot as predictable and characters as "pretty awful", leaving viewers "rooting for the mist instead of those running from it".
Ed Power of The Daily Telegraph felt that it was a middling effort for King's works, and that it benefited from sticking to familiar horror themes and tropes.
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