11/22/63 TV Series Cast News: James Franco to Star in Adaptation of Stephen King Novel

Stephen King's 2011 best-selling and award-winning novel "11/22/63" – which is about a time traveler who goes back to the past through a time portal in an attempt to prevent the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, which occurred on the date mentioned in the title – is going to be adapted as a mini-TV series by Hulu, with the lead role to be played by James Franco.

Franco is no stranger to TV, as he began his career playing roles on the small screen for "Freaks and Geeks" and "General Hospital." He landed the title role in the TV film, "James Dean," which earned him a Golden Globe award.

Franco is best known for his roles in the movies—as Harry Osborne in the "Spiderman" trilogy, as the main protagonist on the "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," as the wizard in "Oz, the Great and Powerful," as Aron Ralston in "127 Hours," where he earned an Oscar nomination and most recently, as Dave Skylark, in the controversial film, "The Interview."

The nine-part "11/22/63" series will follow the book's storyline with Franco essaying the role of Jake Epping, a high school English teacher who travels back to the past in an attempt to thwart the assassination of Kennedy. As is always the case, he finds out that messing with time has its consequences, and that however well-meaning one's intentions are, the overall results may not be as expected.

The series will be a departure from King's usual genre. Commenting on this, the author said he thinks he would be able to reach a wider audience with this part historical fiction, adventure/thriller and love story. The upcoming TV series also brings to light an age-old question—what would have happened if Kennedy never died on that fateful day?

Hulu is an American online company and ad-supported online video service that offers a selection of TV shows, clips, movies and more on the free Hulu.com service and the Hulu Plus subscription service.

This project marks the first original programming partnership between Hulu and WBTV. The series will be produced by J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot Productions, and the teleplay will be written by Bridget Carpenter. King will serve as executive producer with Abrams and Carpenter. Franco will serve as a producer as well.

Stephen King fans, who loved the book, are eager to watch how the story would be treated by the production team. All eyes are on Franco as he plays a role that is dear to many of the fans who read the book.