'The Stand,' series based on Stephen King novel, to premiere Dec. 17

Aug. 25 (UPI) -- The Stand, a new miniseries based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, will premiere in December.

CBS All Access said in a press release Tuesday that the limited series will begin airing Dec. 17.

"The world as we know it will never be the same. Based on the book by Stephen King, #TheStand premieres December 17, only on CBS All Access," the network tweeted.

The Stand takes place in a post-apocalyptic world that has been ravaged by a pandemic. The story follows several survivors as they establish a new order.

"The Stand is Stephen King's apocalyptic vision of a world decimated by plague and embroiled in an elemental struggle between good and evil," an official synopsis reads.

James Marsden stars as Stu Redman, with Amber Heard as Nadine Cross, Greg Kinnear as Glen Bateman, Odessa Young as Frannie Goldsmith, Henry Zaga as Nick Andros, Whoopi Goldberg as Mother Abagail and Alexander Skarsgård as Randall Flagg.

The nine-episode series is co-written by Josh Boone and Ben Cavell, who also serves as showrunner. Boone and Cavell co-executive produce with King, who wrote a new ending for the series.

"During the two years we spent making The Stand, we all felt the responsibility of adapting what may be the most beloved work of one of the world's most beloved storytellers, but none of us could have imagined that Stephen King's 40-year-old masterpiece about a global pandemic would come to be so eerily relevant," Cavell said.

"We're honored to tell this sprawling, epic story, including a new coda that Stephen King has wanted to add for decades," he added. "We're so proud of this show and its attempt to find meaning and hope in the most uncertain of times. We can't wait to share it with the world."

King's novel was first published in 1978. ABC previously adapted the book as a 1994 miniseries starring Gary Sinise and Molly Ringwald.