Stephen King is a prolific writer whose books feature new ideas as well as unique twists on existing tropes. Several of his ideas have materialized in real life. For instance, his novella Apt Pupil (1982) and novel Rage (1977) showed the potential for mass shootings and the indoctrination of the young by far-right ideologies. His novel The Stand (1978) depicts a world rebuilding itself in the aftermath of a deadly pandemic. The Stand reads differently in the aftermath of the COVID-19 lockdowns. The Running Man concludes with an airplane being flown into a skyscraper, which may remind modern readers of the attacks on the World Trade Center.

Violence as entertainment is nothing new, as the ancient Roman gladiator games attest. However, outside of sports such as boxing, televised violence is a modern invention. King uses The Running Man to explore an extreme vision of televised violence. Like the gladiator games, the contest in The Running Man is not for a niche audience. It is the most popular spectacle and is consumed avidly by the public.

Modern-day reality TV has a lot in common with the world of The Running Man. Contemporary reality TV doesn’t lead to death or dismemberment, but some of its premises have grown more extreme with time.