Based on The Stand by Stephen King
Developed by Josh Boone & Benjamin Cavell
Executive producers Benjamin Cavell, Taylor Elmore, Josh Boone, Will Weiske, Jimmy Miller, Roy Lee, Richard P. Rubinstein
Producers Stephen Welke, Jill Killington, Knate Lee, Owen King
Production locations British Columbia, Canada
James Marsden as Stu Redman
Odessa Young as Frannie Goldsmith
Owen Teague as Harold Lauder
Alexander Skarsgård as Randall Flagg / “The Dark Man”
Whoopi Goldberg as Mother Abagail
Amber Heard as Nadine Cross
Jovan Adepo as Larry Underwood
Henry Zaga as Nick Andros
Nat Wolff as Lloyd Henreid
Irene Bedard as Ray Brentner
Brad William Henke as Tom Cullen
Greg Kinnear as Glen Bateman
Recurring
Eion Bailey as Teddy Weizak
Gabrielle Rose as Judge Farris
Gordon Cormier as Joe
Katherine McNamara as Julie Lawry
Ezra Miller as Trashcan Man
Fiona Dourif as the Rat Woman
It’s pretty much impossible to describe the 2020 version of The Stand without comparing it to the 1994 miniseries. For that reason, I’ve put the cast of the 1994 version at the bottom of this review.
The 2020 version had two strikes against it starting out—one happenstance, and the other self-inflicted. That the story about a plague that effectively wipes out 99.9% of humanity comes out during the most significant pandemic in over a century was just bad luck; granted, next time some idiot politician tries to say “Nobody could have seen this coming” you can use Stephen King’s 1976 novel to tell them, “Yes, nearly EVERYONE saw this coming. And COVID is just a love tap compared to some of the viruses out there just waiting for the right vector.”
The second was the decision to tell the first few episodes in a non-sequential order. The first third of the story is arguably the most powerful, and confusing and alienating viewers defused it badly. Even those of us familiar with the novel and the previous tellings got confused by the end of chapter three.
King’s greatest weakness as a writer, at least during his first 30 years, was to have somewhat lame endings. The Stand was no different, with the Odyssey of Stu and Tom being comparatively mundane. The new series tried to punch that up a bit, with a rather silly Timmy-fell-down-the-well yarn and the return of Mother Abigail. I understand that King wrote the patch, but I can’t say it worked very well.
The religious aspect of the story made for a good yarn for those who believe in gods and devils and all of that (in some distant future I expect The Stand to be a part of somebody’s Bible), but it undermined the original story. They played it up further in the new series, to the detriment of the tone of the story. Exterminating nearly all of humanity, giving half the remainder to the devil while tormenting the rest is certainly biblical, but it detracts from any particular need for tactics or strategy on the part of the survivors.
The new series does have some strong points. Vegas is far more terrifying a place, with the gaudy evil of a CPAC convention. New York wasn’t. It really needed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the Monster Shouter and the terrifying trek through the Lincoln Tunnel.
There were standout performances: this Frannie was far more suited than Molly Ringwald was. The new Flagg was both more charming and more ominous than the 1994 version. This Harold was far creepier and more human as he dissolved than the original. Tom Cullen was more convincing, and I liked the new edgier version of Larry Underwood.
Whoopi Goldberg was the grievous miscast that Molly Ringwald was, and Laura San Giacomo gave a lifetime performance as Nadine Cross in the first series. Obviously, a lot of characters haven’t been mentioned, and it’s safe to assume that it meant the performances were about equal in the two series. In the case of Stu and Lloyd, that’s a compliment.
If you’re a fan of the King novel (and I am, despite its flaws) then The Stand 2020 is worth watching. But it swings and misses at the most dramatic elements of the novel, with storytelling and casting flaws that it can’t quite overcome.
1994 version cast:
Cast
Main article: List of The Stand characters
Gary Sinise as Stu Redman
Molly Ringwald as Frannie Goldsmith
Jamey Sheridan as Randall Flagg
Laura San Giacomo as Nadine Cross
Ruby Dee as Mother Abagail Freemantle
Ossie Davis as Judge Richard Farris
Miguel Ferrer as Lloyd Henreid
Corin Nemec as Harold Lauder
Matt Frewer as Trashcan Man
Adam Storke as Larry Underwood
Ray Walston as Glen Bateman
Rob Lowe as Nick Andros
Bill Fagerbakke as Tom Cullen
Peter Van Norden as Ralph Brentner
Bridgit Ryan as Lucy Swann
Rick Aviles as Rat Man
Max Wright as Dr. Herbert Denninger
Shawnee Smith as Julie Lawry
Cynthia Garris as Susan Stern
Richard Jewkes as Dick Ellis
Sarah Schaub as Gina McKone
William Newman as Dr. Soames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as The Monster Shouter
Warren Frost as Dr. George Richardson
John Bloom (aka Joe Bob Briggs) as Deputy Joe-Bob
Troy Evans as Sheriff Johnny Baker
Stephen King as Teddy Weizak
John Landis as Russ Dorr
Dan Martin as Rich Moffat
John Dunbar as Dave Roberts
Sam Raimi as Bobby Terry
Chuck Adamson as Barry Dorgan
Kellie Overbey as Dayna Jurgens
Ray McKinnon as Charlie D. Campion
Tom Holland as Carl Hough
David Kirk Chambers as Brad Kitchner
Kathy Bates as Rae Flowers (uncredited)
Ed Harris as Gen. Bill Starkey (uncredited)
Sherman Howard as Dr. Dietz
Ken Jenkins as Peter Goldsmith
Richard Lineback as Poke Freeman
Sam Anderson as Whitney Horgan
Leo Geter as Chad Norris
Patrick Kilpatrick as Ray Booth
Jordan Lund as Bill Hapscomb
Jesse Bennett as Vic Palfrey
Jim Haynie as Deputy Kingsolving
Billy L. Sullivan as Joe
Hope Marie Carlton as Sally Campion
Mary Ethel Gregory as Alice Underwood
Britney Lewis as Arlene
Bill Corso as the voice of corpses