As this happens, the residents trapped inside find their own ways to survive with diminishing resources and rising tensions.

Executive producer and showrunner Neal Baer stated in an interview after the finale aired: "I'm very happy with this ending.

Pink stars, a visible energy source, appear many times throughout the life of the dome, most noticeably on the egg.

These remnants of the townspeople are known as The Resistance: Julia, Big Jim, Joe, Norrie, Hunter, Barbie, and Lily, an employee of Aktaion.

Once the dome comes down, the government enters Chester's Mill and imprisons everyone, letting the non-infected people (The Resistance) remain free.

All is well until a year later when The Resistance discover The Kinship's leader, Dawn, is still alive, posing as a schoolteacher and traveling with children to find another egg and bring down a new dome.

[25] Showtime entertainment president David Nevins felt that the series was not right for the network and suggested to Nina Tassler, his CBS counterpart, that she take on the project.

Tassler was interested and picked up the series along with attaching veteran television producer Neal Baer, who was under contract at CBS, as the showrunner.

"This is a great novel coming to the television screen with outstanding auspices and in-season production values to create a summer programming event," commented Tassler in the official CBS press release.

[27] In the first season, Brian K. Vaughan and Stephen King served as executive producers along with Baer, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, Jack Bender, Steven Spielberg, and Stacey Snider.

[30] Days before the series premiere aired on U.S. television, the cast and executive producers of Under the Dome met in Wilmington, North Carolina, on June 20, 2013, for an advance screening of the pilot episode.

[31] On June 24, 2013, the night of the series premiere, entertainment website Vulture published an article about the economics of Under the Dome; to bring the expensive production (an estimated $3 million per episode) to life, CBS had struck a deal with Amazon Video that would bring new episodes to the platform four days after they debuted on CBS.

Additionally, the article says that foreign markets also played an important role in the financing, bringing in about $1.9 million, and with the North Carolina state tax credits the show earned for filming in the state, an estimated $400,000, meant CBS had already earned back the money they paid for each episode before the episodes even aired on TV.

[32] On July 29, 2013, the series was renewed for a 13-episode second season, with executive producer and Under the Dome novel writer Stephen King announced to be writing the second-season premiere episode.

[33] The second season premiered on June 30, 2014,[34] with King making a cameo appearance in the episode, as a customer in the Sweetbriar Rose diner.

[36] During a CBS press briefing in May 2015, showrunner and executive producer Neal Baer promised answers in the new season.

"[10] Baer had previously stated in an interview in October 2013 that he knew what the ending of the show would be, and that five seasons of 13 episodes would be an ideal length.

[50] It was confirmed on October 9, 2014 that even after extensive cuts to the state tax credits, filming would remain in the Wilmington area for the show's third season.

That's also true of the big stuff, like the supermarket riot, the reason for all that propane storage, and the book's thematic concerns with diminishing resources.

"[7] Positive reviews included Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter, who wrote that "the intriguing Stephen King adaption is filled with storytelling promise",[55] Glenn Garvin of the Miami Herald, who wrote that "based on the pilot episode — with its taut script, strong performances and special effects that are impressive without being overwhelming — there's hope that Under The Dome might measure up to its unsettling print progenitor",[56] and Verne Gay of Newsday, who wrote that the show "looks like a summer winner".

[57] A negative review came from Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe, who wrote that "so much is working against Under the Dome, it's hard to get genuinely excited.

"[9] Negative reviews included Hank Stuever of The Washington Post, who wrote that "I just don't buy Under the Dome, on any level.

[60] However, other critics were more positive; Mark Dawidziak of The Plain Dealer wrote that "If not top-tier TV terror fare, Under the Dome certainly is solid second-level stuff.

Even while acknowledging the occasional misstep, give Under the Dome credit for getting a lot of things right",[61] while Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe wrote that "there are glimmers of hope for season two".

[62] In a June 2015 interview with The Hollywood Reporter to discuss season three, Neal Baer commented on the "less-than-favorable" critical reception to previous episodes.

Positive reviews included Ken Tucker of Yahoo!, who wrote that "Under the Dome is certainly broadcast television's most enjoyable science-fiction/fantasy series, a summer treat that, while sometimes silly and over-the-top, is never less than energetically imaginative and aware of the history of its genre",[63] Scott Von Doviak of The A.V.

[65] Negative reviews included Kevin Yeoman of Screen Rant, who wrote that "There is a certain joy that comes from watching something as consistently moronic as Under the Dome",[66] and Tim Surette of TV.com, who wrote that "it takes balls to think your audience is so dumb and brain dead that you feel the need to explain the big twist in the episode that's about to happen before the episode even begins".

[3] With DVR viewership figures added, the series premiere was viewed by a total of 17.76 million viewers.