Stephen King’s 7-Time Oscar-Nominated Drama Proves Its Staying Power on Streaming

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Stephen King on the set of Under the Dome

Britta DeVore is a Senior Author for Collider who has been known to dabble with Reality News as well.

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Novelist Stephen King far too often gets written off as nothing more than a horror writer. But, those of us who have spent time flipping through the pages of his many titles know better. Beyond the monsters, demons, and sinister entities, are tales about the human experience and the bonds that pull us together or drag us apart. Right now, one of those beloved titles that was lucky enough to receive an on-screen adaptation is becoming a streaming sensation more than three decades after its initial release. Award season favorite, The Shawshank Redemption, is currently bringing in viewers left and right to Peacock, where it sits in tenth place on the platform’s coveted Top 10 chart.

Many know about the vampires at the center of Salem’s Lot or Pennywise the Dancing Clown of IT fame, but between the covers of King’s literary masterpieces are tales about humans and the communities affected by these monstrous beings. On the other hand, King is also a master at pulling on our heartstrings and leaning away from heavy-handed horror to get his point across. Just look at his 2020 collection, If It Bleeds, which contains the novella, The Life of Chuck, which received a big-screen adaptation last year courtesy of King’s frequent collaborator, Mike Flanagan. The Shawshank Redemption is in a similar vein — even though there are scary and terrifying things that happen — as it’s more of a story about human beings just trying to live through the cards they’ve been dealt.

Starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, Frank Darabont’s The Shawshank Redemption is based on King’s 1982 novella, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. In the movie, audiences meet Andy Dufresne (Robbins), a man who has been sentenced to serve out his life at Shawshank State Penitentiary for the alleged murders of his wife and her boyfriend. Throughout the next few decades — during which Andy sticks by his claims of innocence — he makes friends with another man behind bars, Red (Freeman), who is in prison for contraband smuggling. Along the way, Andy faces plenty of horrific situations, all at the hands of fellow inmates.

‘The Shawshank Redemption’s Academy Award Run

By the time award season rolled around, The Shawshank Redemption was on the tip of everyone’s tongues, earning seven Academy Award nominations. The movie received the most Oscar nods of King’s adaptations, with Brian De Palma’s Carrie, Rob Reiner’s Stand by Me and Misery, and Darabont’s The Green Mile also being contenders during their respective years. Of all the nominations, lightning only struck once, when Kathy Bates took home the trophy for Best Actress for her role in Misery.