CBS All Access has announced the release date of its adaptation of Stephen King’s science fiction novel The StandThe star-studded series has been in the works for years, with writer/director Josh Boone at the helm. Now, it has been revealed that The Stand will be released on the streaming platform this December.

The Stand was adapted for the screen once before, in a miniseries released in 1994. Now, in 2020, the novel’s themes ring more true than ever before. After a mysterious plague ravages Earth, the 108 year-old Mother Abigail (Whoopi Goldberg) and a small group of survivors will have to keep humanity alive. The cast also includes James Marsden as Stu Redman, Odessa Young as Frannie Goldsmith, and Alexander Skarsgård as Randall Flagg.

New episodes of the show will debut each Thursday, running until February 2021. And if you think you know how the series is going to end because you read the book, think again. "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,” said showrunner and executive producer Benjamin Cavell in a statement. “We’re honored to tell this sprawling, epic story, including a new coda that Stephen King has wanted to add for decades.” That’s right, The Stand will end in a completely novel way.

The Stand debuts on CBS All Access on December 17.

Gallery — The Best Sci-Fi Movie Posters of All Time:

More From ScreenCrush