CBS has been really touting their new summer program ‘Under the Dome’ and today we have the latest teaser for the series.

It used to be that summer TV programming meant 3 months of repeats and some non-memorable reality programs, but network executives have finally realized that just because the weather is nicer outside doesn’t mean people have stopped watching television in the evening. So summer has now become a place where television shows can now get a try out before heading to the big leagues of the Fall time slots. CBS is hoping to draw people to their network during this slower viewer period with this new genre series.

‘Under the Dome’ was created by comic book and television writer Brian K. Vaughn (‘Lost’, ‘Y, The Last Man’) and is based on the book by Stephen King (not ‘The Simpson’s Movie’ as some may want to believe) about a small town that must battle apocalyptic conditions as they are cut off from the rest of the world when it is suddenly encased in a giant dome. According to Vaughn, the series will have 3 distinct sections:

“The first section is fate. The second section is fear. And the third section is fascism. I won’t say who is the fascist or what exactly that means, but I think you get the sense that things are going to go wrong very quickly under the dome, and we’re going to need an iron fist keeping order.”

Fans of the King novel may be pleasantly surprise to hear that the series won’t be following the book too closely, especially when it comes to the ending. Vaughn explains:

“There’s sort of a perhaps slightly different explanation for the dome. I nervously pitched Stephen King what a different version of the ending might be … He said, ‘I wish I’d thought of that. Which, I suspect, is just Stephen being kind.”

With Spielberg producing, Niels Arden Oplev (‘Unforgettable’, ‘Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’) and Jack Bender (‘Alcatraz’, ‘Lost’, ‘Alphas’) each directing an episode that Vaughn has written, it’s no wonder that there is a lot of positive buzz around this program.

‘Under the Dome’ sounds like it will be a gripping series that will be seeped with lots of themes. Not only will we get the conspiracy aspect of the show with who and why the dome appeared, but it will also tackle apocalyptic themes of dwindling resources, environmental themes of pollution taking up the limited air supply under the dome, and the psychological aspect of a town cut off from the rest of the world. What more could you want in a sci-fi show?

Check out the teaser below for a taste of what ‘Under the Dome’ will bring!

‘Under the Dome’ airs Mondays beginning June 24th.