Stephen King is one of the most well-known and acclaimed authors of all time, often referred to as the King of Horror. His novels have been adapted into some of the horror genre’s most influential films, such as Carrie, The Shining, and Misery. His works continue to be adapted today, including one story he held onto for years: Lisey’s Story. The time finally came when King felt ready to adapt the novel, largely due to Ryan Murphy.

What Is ‘Lisey’s Story’ About?

Lisey’s Story was published in 2006, but it wasn’t until 2021 that the novel finally earned an adaptation. King has repeatedly mentioned that it is his personal favorite among his novels and even expressed interest in adapting Lisey’s Story into a TV series back in 2017. The narrative follows Lisey Landon (Julianne Moore), the widow of a novelist, who is haunted by repressed memories tied to her husband’s death.

King revealed that the idea for Lisey’s Story came to him after a severe case of pneumonia sent him to the hospital. While there, his wife, Tabitha King, redecorated his office. Upon returning home and seeing his belongings in boxes, he envisioned what his office would look like after his death.

Stephen King Credits Ryan Murphy as the Reason ‘Lisey’s Story’ Became a TV Show

Given that Lisey’s Story is King’s personal favorite novel, this affection made it challenging for him to agree to let anyone adapt it for the screen. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he revealed that he was inspired by the second season of Ryan Murphy’s American Crime Story anthology series, The Assassination of Gianni Versace:

“I saw this thing on FX that was about the fashion designer Versace and about the man who killed him. I had not really thought about getting involved with Lisey at that point or tackling it as a TV project, but I looked at that thing, and I said to myself, my goodness, this guy, Tom Rob Smith, wrote the whole thing. He wrote all eight or nine episodes, and I thought, well, if he could do that and bring it home and do such a great job, what about Lisey? And I sat down, and I started, and I showed the scripts to Ben Stephenson at Bad Robot one by one, and he was very encouraging. So the scripts got done, and everything else followed from that.”

According to King, another factor that inspired him to pursue his own small-screen adaptation of Lisey’s Story was the evolution brought by streaming TV. “You have a chance to do more,” he stated. “You can be a little more graphic with language, sexual situations, and length—just the chance to create something with that kind of depth and nuance. For writers like me, it’s been fantastic.”

With the opportunity for a longer format featuring multiple episodes (anyone familiar with King’s writing knows how detailed he can be), it’s no surprise that television appealed to him. King acknowledged he could make necessary updates to Lisey’s Story, viewing the book through different perspectives after 15 years. This allowed him to streamline the plot or eliminate characters unnecessary for the screen version. A Stephen King adaptation is always exciting, but fans had been particularly eager for Lisey’s Story to come alive on screen. So thanks to Ryan Murphy (and American Crime Story), Stephen King might not have embarked on this journey without you.