The Mist TV series gets a pilot order from Spike

Last September, Dimension Television announced that they were bringing The Mist, based on the classic Stephen King novella and film by Frank Darabont, to television, and now word comes that the Viacom-owned cable network Spike has given a pilot order for the show.

Stephen King has given his blessing to the project, which is a continuing series from acclaimed writer Christian Torpe. Torpe created the successful show “Rita” in Denmark, now finishing its fourth season, and has developed programming for both Showtime and AMC.

Using the book and movie as influences, the series tells an original story about a seemingly innocuous mist that seeps into a small town but contains limitless havoc. From psychological terrors to otherworldly creatures, the mist causes the town residents’ darkest demons to appear forcing them to battle the supernatural event and, more importantly, each other.

“We are excited to be in business with Spike on their first scripted production pilot and working with the very talented Christian Torpe to further explore Stephen King’s classic novella and bring this riveting series to television audiences,” said Bob Weinstein, co-chairman The Weinstein Company and Dimension Films.

“The terror and drama in Stephen King’s novella are so vast that we felt serialized television is the best place to explore them in greater depth,” Weinstein said previously. “With this show, Christian has created a fascinating band of characters and a story with infinite scares.”

Frank Darabont’s fillm adaptation was released in 2007 and grossed $57 million worldwide on an $18 million budget, and went on to achieve critical acclaim. The original novella by King has also provided the inspiration for some high profile video games including Silent Hill and Half-Life.