Larry Underwood escapes from a plague-ridden Manhattan, encountering a number of terrifying challenges.

Episode 1 of this adaptation of Stephen King’s chunky novel widely avoided introducing all the main characters – there’s a lot of them – instead focusing on Stu, Harold and Frannie. This week the greatest running time is devoted to singer Larry Underwood (Jovian Adepo, Watchmen) who gets a stark awakening from from his rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle when the ‘Captain Trips’ virus starts killing those around him.

Larry bumps into Heather Graham’s (Lost in Space) socialite Rita Blakemoor in Central Park and the two of them make their way out of the city via a rat-infested, flooded Lincoln Tunnel. It’s a striking sequence, with Larry also imagining his dead mother talking to him. Graham is great as Rita, a character that was omitted from the previous mini-series.

We also get to meet cop killer Lloyd Henreid (Nat Wolff, Death Note), rescued from prison by Randall Flagg, as well as getting introduced to other significant characters like teacher Nadine Cross (Amber Heard, Aquaman) and Nick Andros (Henry Zaga, The New Mutants). Those on the side of good have been led by Mother Abigail to Stu in the Boulder free-zone, while those following the path of evil are being tempted by dark lord Flagg.

Verdict: Another excellent introduction to a group of key characters in this epic tale. It’s topically grim, and totally addictive. 9/10