Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream by Stephen King.
Summary
Stephen King’s new book contains 12 stories, five of which are newly published — andYou Like It Darker’s best new story would make a great miniseries.King is no stranger to short story collections, as the author has published a number of them over the course of his career.You Like It Darkeris the most recent to debut, hitting shelves in May 2024. Given King’s reputation, it goes without saying thatYou Like It Darkerwas one of2024’s most-anticipated horror books.
You Like It Darkeris well worth the hype, and many of its tales explore very human terrors — though there are several supernatural twists as well. And the collection’s new stories strike a balance between the ordinary and the extraordinary.Two Talented Bastids,Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream,Rattlesnakes, The Dreamer,andThe Answer Manmake up King’s freshly published narratives. They’re all impressive additions to the author’s lineup, but one of them absolutely needs to be adapted for TV.
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Stephen King’s Best New Story From You Like It Darker Needs To Become A Miniseries
All of King’s new stories fromYou Like It Darkerare great, butDanny Coughlin’s Bad Dreamstands out as the best of them— and it’s the ideal pick for a TV adaptation.Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dreamis one of the lengthier tales from King’s 2024 collection, and it features multiple perspective characters, all of whom would be interesting to follow in a miniseries. The story opens with the title character having a nightmare about an abandoned gas station with a body buried behind it.
Danny can’t shake his vivid dream, especially after he learns the abandoned gas station is real. He soon discovers that the body behind it is, too. And when he anonymously calls the authorities, he becomes their primary suspect. Thus begins an investigation with Danny at the center of it, and one of the cops on the case isn’t exactly objective.This leads to a walking nightmare for Danny, in which almost everyone he knows suddenly believes he’s a murderer.
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Danny is among the more sympathetic characters fromYou Like It Darker,so it’s easy to get invested in his plight. Andthat makesDanny Coughlin’s Bad Dreama frustrating and intense read. There isn’t much supernatural horror beyond Danny’s eerie nightmare. However, the human elements of this story are precisely why it’sbegging to become one of King’s adaptations.
Having a likable main character is one reasonDanny Coughlin’s Bad Dreamwould make a great adaptation, but it isn’t the only one. The narrative’s villain makes an even better case for turning this tale into a miniseries. Inspector Franklin Jalbert is the antagonist of this story,and he’s one of the more fascinating ones to appear inYou Like It Darker. Jalbert is difficult to like, but he feels very realistic — and his actions will leave readers clenching their fists. That’s the sort of villain that attracts people to a TV series, with viewers hoping the hero will beat them.
With so many perspectives and a gripping narrative, there’s little doubtDanny Coughlin’s Bad Dreamcould become one ofStephen King’s most memorable adaptations.
Jalbert and his partner, Inspector Ella Davis, would also give an adaptation ofDanny Coughlin’s Bad Dreamthe opportunity to explore the effects of police negligence. Watching Danny’s life be upended by false accusations would prove a distressing experience, but it would send a powerful message. Davis would add another complex POV to a miniseries as well, and it could even dig deeper into other characters in Danny’s life. With so many perspectives and a gripping narrative, there’s little doubtDanny Coughlin’s Bad Dreamcould become one ofStephen King’s most memorable adaptations. Hopefully, studios take notice.
