Acclaimed horror author Stephen King highlighted the short-lived NBC sci-fi thriller The Event as one of his favorite television shows, bringing attention to a forgotten 2010 series that aired for only one season.
A few years ago, when King listed some of his favorite television series, he placed major hits such as AMC's critically acclaimed dramas The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad at the top of his ranking, but The Event stood out as a significantly less familiar selection.
King, the bestselling American writer behind iconic horror and suspense novels including Carrie and The Shining, has frequently shared media recommendations with his readership. The Event was produced by major commercial broadcast network NBC and ran for just 22 episodes before its cancellation left viewers with unresolved mysteries. Presented as a thriller mixing political conspiracy and science fiction, the fast-paced series can be binge-watched in a single stretch.
Conspiracy and extraterrestrial origins
American actor Jason Ritter stars as protagonist Sean Walker, an ordinary man who becomes entangled in a massive global conspiracy following the sudden disappearance of his girlfriend, Leila, during their vacation.
Walker's frantic search for his missing partner brings him into contact with United States President Elias Martinez, who is grappling with the fallout of a secret government facility.
President Martinez learns that a covert Central Intelligence Agency prison hidden in the wilderness of Alaska holds extraterrestrial beings whose spacecraft crashed on Earth in 1944.
The science fiction element centered on these mysterious creatures, who appeared human on the surface but were eventually revealed to be aliens. Genetic testing within the show established that their DNA differed from human DNA by less than 1 percent, and they aged at a much slower rate than humans. While many of the alien survivors remained locked inside the secret Alaskan prison, others escaped and began living quietly among the human population.
Complex timelines and network cancellation
The hidden presence of aliens living disguised among ordinary people created constant paranoia for viewers, who were forced to question which characters were concealing their true identity. To build this tension, the series relied on shifting perspectives and multiple timelines.
The pilot episode established its ambitious format by unfolding across three distinct time periods within a single hour. This non-linear structure represented a bold creative decision for a weekly network show in 2010.
However, the heavy reliance on flashbacks confused many viewers, while unexpected scheduling delays further disrupted audience engagement. NBC ultimately cancelled the series after one season, leaving numerous storylines without resolution.
Despite its commercial struggles, King praised the show, describing it as an intelligent drama filled with suspense. The series is currently unavailable on streaming platforms.
