Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, out now

Meet Annie Wilkes – she’s something of a Misery lover…

The second series of the Warner Bros. show set in a town that intersects characters from across the Stephen King universe has multiple strands going on, but many of them tie back to the character of Annie Wilkes – down the line to become the captor of Paul Sheldon. How did she become the character that we encounter in both King’s book and the William Goldman-penned film? There’s plenty of hints given here – and as the show’s executive producer Dustin Thomason notes in the extra documentary, it’s a good thing this is a prequel not a sequel. Annie isn’t the only key King character to feature this time around – Ace Merrill’s here to stir up trouble, and there’s plenty of fertile ground for him to till.

We’ve reviewed the episodes separately on the site (click here for the list), but binge-watching this you notice just how well the light and the darkness are portrayed, and how much is layered in for those who don’t know Annie Wilkes from Lil Orphan Annie. There’s a decent short documentary as the only extra, which really does whet the appetite for more information – sadly there are no commentaries.

Verdict: A more assured season tonally than its predecessor, no matter how much (or little) of a Stephen King fan you are, you’ll find plenty here. 8/10

Paul Simpson

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