Stephen and Owen King's Sleeping Beauties waking up at AMC

AMC is continuing to add to its roster of genre programming — the home of The Walking Dead and its spin-offs will soon host an adaptation of Sleeping Beauties, a novel co-written by Stephen King and his son, Owen King.

Deadline reports that the network has committed to a pilot for the project, and the hope is for it to expand into an open-ended series. Owen King will write the script for the pilot, with Michael Sugar and Ashley Zalta serving as executive producers.

If the King name alone conjures up images of the show having a basis in horror, that wouldn't be completely off the mark. The best-selling novel tells the tale of a future where all women mysteriously fall asleep, and what then befalls the small town of Dooling, where a women's prison provides the main source of employment. The women don't just fall asleep, they become wrapped up in cocoons, and if they get woken up they become violent.

The men remain abandoned (which, you know, doesn't go very well), and the women find themselves somewhere else entirely while they are asleep. One woman named Evie is able to stay awake, and will prove to be either a blessing or a curse.

Zalta is quoted as saying, “Owen and Stephen King found the perfect canvas to tell a haunting and gripping story that sparks a relevant conversation about gender equality and individuality. We couldn’t be more excited about this collaboration with the Kings and with AMC, who have so often boldly redefined genres.”

Stephen King himself weighed in, saying, “I’m tremendously excited to see Sleeping Beauties brought to life in a format that will allow the story to be told as it was meant to be told, in all its mystery and drama." Owen King added his own remarks, saying, “We’re so happy to be working with Michael, Ashley, and AMC on Sleeping Beauties. We can’t imagine a better match.”

Will Sleeping Beauties become one of the next big genre hits, or is it doomed to walk among the dead of unfinished mystery box stories? Wake up the comment section with your thoughts.