The Stand (1994 miniseries)

The Stand (also known as Stephen King's The Stand) is a 1994 American post-apocalyptic horror television miniseries based on the 1978 novel The Stand by Stephen King. Written by King and directed by Mick Garris, the four-part miniseries depicts the aftermath of a deadly engineered strain of influenza that kills most of the world's population. The remaining survivors gradually align themselves with either the benevolent Mother Abagail or the demonic Randall Flagg, leading to a final struggle between good and evil. The ensemble cast includes Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwald, Jamey Sheridan, Laura San Giacomo, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Matt Frewer, Miguel Ferrer, Adam Storke, and Rob Lowe.

The project spent several years in development before reaching television. During the 1980s the novel was initially planned as a theatrical film adaptation to be directed by George A. Romero, but the scale of the story and its projected budget prevented the project from moving forward. In the early 1990s the adaptation was revived as a television miniseries for the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), allowing the narrative to be presented across multiple episodes. Filming took place primarily in Utah and Nevada, with additional production in Pennsylvania and New York, and involved extensive prosthetic makeup and visual effects work to depict the devastation caused by the pandemic.

The miniseries originally aired on ABC over four nights from May 8 to May 12, 1994. It attracted strong ratings and was watched by millions of viewers during its broadcast run. The Stand received generally positive reviews from critics and was nominated for six Primetime Emmy Awards, winning for Outstanding Makeup for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Limited Series or a Special.