If you're looking for a high-concept, mystery sci-fi show in the vein of Under the Dome, From, or Manifest, Stephen King has a recommendation for you. The horror master has always loved sharing recommendations for the genre's spooky offerings on social media, and this week he took to Threads (he left the channel formerly known as Twitter in November) to highlight UK-made series The Midwich Cuckoos.

"THE CUCKOO BADWICHERS (Amazon): Surprised This Hasn't Been Talked About More," King recently Posted in Topics. "It's a brilliant re-imagining of John Wyndham's classic sci-fi/horror novel." The title of one of Wyndham's most famous novels may not sound familiar, but the name of his previous film adaptation might: "Midwife Cowards" became "Village of the Damned" when Wolf Rilla adapted it in 1960. That version of the story is considered an all-time great horror film, alternately called "a great thriller-thriller" (by Boston Globe), "one of the truly exciting screen stories of the period" (cf The evening star), and "a masterful horror story" and "a minor masterpiece" (via The Washington Post).

The action of "Cowards of the Centers" begins with a disturbing incident: the whole town suddenly faints, and when they wake up, all the women are pregnant. The story is unsettling and surprising, with elements like mind control, otherworldly creatures, and military intervention. The iteration championed by the King was created by Royal Shakespeare Company associate director David Farr and stars BAFTA-nominated actor Keely Hawes ("It's a Sin", "Death at a Funeral", the Tomb Raider video games) and actor-writer Max Beasley ("Kidnak," "The Outsider").

King made some strong recommendations for new and returning horror shows this year, from the final season of Evil (for which he inspired an entire social media renewal campaign), on Netflix's adaptation of 3 Body Troubles James Wan produced the Peacock Tea Party series. "The Midwich Cuckoos" stands out a bit because it's not actually a new release; The series was produced by British streamer Sky Max, and its lone season so far aired in 2022.

If you've watched television this century, you've probably come across some high-concept slow-motion sci-fi/mystery shows, most of them made in the wake of ABC's game-changing hit "Lost." From "The Returned" to "Dark" to "The OA" (not to mention many already forgotten one-season shows like "Revolution," "The Event" and "Flashforward"), the mystery TV box is a formula. which seems to continue with the trucks, successful or not. The Midwich Cuckoos at least has the advantage of finality, having been conceived as a limited series. The under-the-radar show has also had some decent reviews from people other than Stephen King, too the irish independent calling it "effective, engaging and full of ideas" as well as "a fascinating thesis about bodily autonomy and the crippling anxiety of young parenthood".

The show is available to US viewers on AMC+, Acorn TV and the Sundance Now platform, although King says he watched it on Amazon Prime (which has add-on options for AMC+ and Acorn TV).