James Franco: Stephen King's '11.22.63' Offers 'Fresh Take' on JFK Assassination

With the help of Stephen King and J.J. Abrams, James Franco is coming out of the closet. He’s coming out of a fictional one in a restaurant that doubles as a portal to the early ‘60s in the new nine-hour limited Hulu series, 11.22.63, based on the New York Times best-selling 2011 King novel of the same name. Appropriately debuting on Presidents’ Day, it tells the story of present-day English teacher Jake Epping tackling his friend’s (Chris Cooper) dying wish — to travel back in time via the supply cupboard to foil the assassination of John F. Kennedy, which Cooper’s character believes would prevent Vietnam and generally make the future a better place. Unsure if he can take the necessary measures like kill someone history isn’t 100 percent sure was guilty or if the plan would even have the desired butterfly effect, Epping also faces the challenge of outwitting a determined Lee Harvey Oswald and a past that, as it turns out, doesn’t want to be changed.