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Christian Torpe says adapting 'The Mist' was 'most terrifying thing I have ever done'

Stephen King tweeted his endorsement of the 10-part TV series, calling it "really good."

By Karen Butler
Actress Sally Field and author Stephen King (R) after President Barack Obama awarded them with a 2014 National Medal of Arts during a ceremony at the White House in Washington, D.C. on September 10, 2015. "The Mist," a series based on King's novella, is to begin on Spike Thursday night. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI
1 of 3 | Actress Sally Field and author Stephen King (R) after President Barack Obama awarded them with a 2014 National Medal of Arts during a ceremony at the White House in Washington, D.C. on September 10, 2015. "The Mist," a series based on King's novella, is to begin on Spike Thursday night. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

June 19 (UPI) -- The Mist showrunner Christian Torpe says Stephen King was "incredibly kind and generous" as Torpe was adapting the horror master's novella for the small screen.

Co-starring Morgan Spector, Frances Conroy and Alyssa Sutherland, The Mist is to debut Thursday night on Spike. The 10-part thriller follows a family and its neighbors as a mysterious fog rolls in, bringing violence and death.

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"He has just been incredibly kind and generous," Torpe told UPI about King in a recent phone interview. "I wrote him an email and told him what I thought was necessary to change and how I wanted to approach the story in order to turn it into an ongoing show and he was just as generous as he could possibly be. He wrote back an email saying as long as I didn't do anything ordinary then he was completely onboard and gave me his blessing."

King, who is famous for vocalizing his opinions, endorsed the project on Twitter.

"THE MIST TV series premieres on Spike, June 22nd. You might want to mark it on your calendar. It's really good," King tweeted.

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"That is incredibly exciting for me," Torpe said of the tweet. "That he likes what we have been doing."

So, did Torpe have any anxiety about re-imagining a work by such a well-known author, especially one which was previously made into a successful film like The Mist?

"It was the most terrifying thing I have ever done!" Torpe laughed. "Waiting for the response to that email I had sent him is as scared as I have ever been in my life. I don't know. I grew up with his work. I adore his writing. I would hate it if I did something that he didn't like or ... he felt it wasn't what he wanted to tell with the story."

2017 is turning out to be a big year for King, with movies based on his books The Dark Tower and It also in the works.

"He's not just a great horror writer, he is a great writer, period, even if you are not a genre fan," Torpe noted. "There is always this brilliant character work and a deep understanding of human nature in his material. I think, as human beings, we are fearful creatures and it is not always easy for us to tap into that fear or address that fear, but he allows us to do that in his novels. ... I think that's why we keep returning to his stories."

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