It is based on Danish director Lars Von Trier's 1994 and 1997 Danish TV mini-series Riget (The Kingdom). The show has been described as a blend of the popular hospital series ER and the Stephen King classic The Shining. It stars Ed Begley Jr, Andrew McCarthy Diane Ladd and Bruce Davison. The supernatural drama is set in a modern hospital built on the site of an ancient mill and the Old Kingdom hospital Both were destroyed by fire. In this location ghosts from the past invade the present.

The director is Craig Baxley, who also directed Stephen King's Rose Red. BBC's acquisitions controller George McGhee added, "We are very pleased that the BBC has exclusive first UK rights to this smart and edgy series from Stephen King, the master of suspense. The BBC will broadcast Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital later this year." Series one will air in the US with a 90 minutes premiere in February 2004.